


Project Starcade

by Kumatorafire, personqwer



Category: Cookie Run (Video Game)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-04-05 16:56:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4187619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kumatorafire/pseuds/Kumatorafire, https://archiveofourown.org/users/personqwer/pseuds/personqwer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Special Force could never find a way to let herself indulge on her personal life, her work with the CIA is both confidential and dangerous for anyone Force is attached to. One evening and one drunken mistake later, she ends up with a real family she can't take care of and a secret that she can't afford to let slip.<br/>(RP between me and personqwer.)<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> These are the references for Science ( http://gyazo.com/f3281ef7f22e670049ed699e1ac3972b ) and Starfruit ( http://gyazo.com/35951f474fe031796a6cc5f4240f1fa0 )

Special Force was at the Cookie Kingdom ruins. It was desolate and nobody liked to go there. It was perfect for when Force needed time alone. And after a week straight of nightmares, she needed to be calm for once. She had been drinking, AWOL being her designated driver, or in this case, the guy who makes sure she stays safe.  
Force sat on some rubble, rubbing her forehead. She took a deep breath and looked down. Why was her life such a lonely mess, like these ruins?

Lily was scavenging for ingredients when she came across Force. She was obviously sad.. Time for the girlfriend to come to the rescue. Lily crept up and, not seeing any weapons in her hands, threw her arms around Force's waist.  
"Force? You okay?"

Force jolted, turning her head to spot Lily. Oh, it was just her. Force relaxed, and sighed, just letting Lily hold her.  
"No... I'm just... Feeling like utter shit... I'm not supposed to be drinking, but how to they expect me not to?? Ugh..."

Lily gave Force a sympathetic look, and moved to hug her from the front. She caught a whiff of the alcohol on her breath and sighed softly. "Was it the nightmares again?" She began to gently pet Force's hair.

"Mmhmm... They don't ever stop anymore... I think I'm finally losing it, Lily." Force leaned into Lily's gentle touch, closing her eyes. "It really leaves a mark on you... The things I do."

Lily sighed and leaned in to kiss Force, cupping her cheek and very gently caressing her. "I wish i could help you.. The most i can do is comfort you when you wake, but.." She sighed unhappily and glanced away. "I don't want this to be a constant.."

Force accepted the kiss, feeling grateful to have her girlfriend here. "...I'm not sure there's anything we can do.. It's just... Crippling loneliness every night.... And fear... Self hatred." She shook her head. "Unless you have any ideas..."

Lily paused, then shrugged. "I don't know, love.." She hesitated. She'd originally planned to ask Force and what they'd discussed earlier, about maybe, possibly, creating a.. Child.. She shook it off, Force wasn't in her right mind at the moment. "I could just sleep with you every night so you wouldn't be lonely, but.. That wouldn't fix everything.."

"You can't do that, Lily... I have to sleep alone. I cant risk you being discovered by... Them." Force said grimly. "Wait... What were you thinking just now?"

"I could fight them. Don't think i couldn't. But, um..." Lily felt her face go red. "It, it was nothing. Just thinking about a conversation we had."

Force was too out of it to tell Lily that she literally stood no chance against the CIA, but when the conversation was brought up, Force turned red.  
"...You're... Serious about that?" She asked carefully.

"About having a child with you?... Yes." Lily covered her face with her hands and cleared her throat nervously. "I love you.. And maybe if we brought something that pure into the world, you would feel less guilt over all the things that haunt you." Lily looked back up to Force, her cheeks still flushed red.

"A-a child..." Force thought about it for a minute. In her current state of mind, it didn't sound like a bad idea. And AWOL wasn't around right now to correct her either, he was out patrolling the ruins.  
"...Lily, I... I'd be honored to have a child with you. It.. Might work."

"!!!" Lily's eyes grew wide. "R-Really?!" she excitedly grabbed Force's cheeks and pulled her into a deep kiss, grinning like an idiot. "Force, I... I didn't think you'd say yes.."  
Lily nuzzled into Force's neck and kissed there.

Force kissed back happily, really feeling better now at the thought of being a real mom.  
Force laughed a little when her neck was kissed. "Ah... Lily, please... Let's get on it... Let's get started. There should be a small oven around here somewhere."

"Ah? Right now? Let me look.." Lily couldn't contain her excitement, and ran to look for one. She swore she'd seen it coming by here, and stopped when she did find it. "Over here." She examined it closer and nodded, impressed. "It's elite, all fancy. Maybe this was what Princess Cookie was made in?" She was partially right, but she was made it that oven as well.

Force stood up, following Lily. Luckily she was still able to walk properly, she wasn't THAT drunk.  
"Perhaps, yeah... I'm surprised it survived this long... Mmm, I want a girl, Lily."

"A girl.. I do too." Lily smiled at Force and opened the oven up, a bit surprised. "It's clean, still? Huh." She clapped her hands together and turned back to Force. "Ready, love?"

Force smiled back, scratching at her arm to get some of her candy skin off, she assumed it worked like that. It hurt a little, but the cut was small and she didn't need much of her own DNA. Once she got a piece off, she tossed it into the oven and left the little cut to bleed. She was drunk enough to ignore it.  
"What else, hmm... Oh!" She dug a candy star bullet out of her gun and threw it in.

Tiger Lily reached down and lifted up her somewhat taffylike hair, stretching a small glob off the end of it. It finally pulled off and she tossed it in. She noticed Force bleeding and quickly moved to clean her up. "...I'm a little nervous.. Are you?"

"...Kinda, yeah... I hope it'll be worth it though." Force shrugged, letting Lily clean her. "Is that all we put in there? Do we just... Fire it up now? I think this is a fancy rich person oven that creates the dough for you."

"I'm sure it'll be worth it. Don't worry." Lily examined the oven and nodded. "Yes, all we have to do is start it now, I think." She nudged the oven, a concerned expression on her face. "If only I knew how to work one of these.." She smacked her fist into it uselessly.

"Careful, kitten... This is our child we're talking about. I think it turns on like this..." Force reached over, and pressed a button on top of it. It didn't work at first. She kicked it, and then it fired up, cooking all the ingredients given.

Lily watched as Force kicked the oven to life, a smile spreading over her face as it turned on. "I can hardly believe it, Force.. We're going to be mothers... Wow." She sighed happily, her hands covering over her heart.

Force sat down on a big rock, and smiled to herself, just watching the oven do it's magic.  
"I-its an amazing thought.. I feel warm inside..." She couldn't tear her eyes away from the oven.

Lily moved closer to Force and climbed into her lap, nuzzling and kissing on Force's cheeks. "Hope it doesn't take too long. Want to see her.." Lily ran a hand idly down the curve of her neck, snuggling as closely as possible.

Force wrapped her arms around Lily, humming. "It shouldn't be longer than fifteen minutes... Nnn, I'm tired..." Force said, holding her head again. "Ow..."

"...Me too.. I think i'll sleep a bit.." She noticed when Force grabbed her head, and sat up a little, slightly worried. She placed a hand on top of Force's. "Are you okay?"

"Just a little headache, that's all. No worries..." She brought her hand back down to gently pet Lily's head.  
That's when AWOL returned. He made a confused set of beeps, floating over to the girls and the oven. "???!!!"

Lily sighed happily and purred as she was petted, but stopped when she heard the beeps. She turned to look at AWOL, a bit upset. "Huh? What's the problem?" She hoped that he didn't have any idea as to what the oven was for or didn't notice that it was on, but.. AWOL wasn't stupid.

AWOL floated over to the oven, beeping at it. He scanned it, and then turning around with a shocked expression. He beeped furiously, looking expectantly at Force and Lily.  
Force could barely understand AWOL's code speech. "What is it, AWOL? You're speaking Greek to me..."  
AWOL made an angry face, and gestured to the oven with his whole body. "!!!!"

Lily sat back, since she could only understand half of the conversation. She understood, however, when AWOL practically threw himself in the direction of the oven. She sighed unhappily. "Is he angry at me, Force?" The thought that Force might be a bit drunk to actually understand  Morse code passed through her head, though.

"...AWOL, don't be like that... We just wanted a daughter, alright?" Force frowned at her partner.   
AWOL was livid, and started going off at both of them with angry beeps, being animated and moving around a lot to express his anger. Whoops.

Lily's attitude switched from upset to angry. Why was AWOL this upset, even when Force was okay with it? "Can't you just stop being annoying for once?" Lily crossed her arms and gave AWOL a cold stare. At the back of her mind, though.. She had to admit, this might cause some trouble with Force and her work.. But the deed was done. The oven had 5 minutes left.

Annoying?? AWOL hated being called that. He beeped and beeped, but fell silent when Force yelled at him.   
"AWOL!! Stop your yapping and accept it! I don't care what the officials say!!" Oh yes you do.  
AWOL sunk down a bit, not saying anything. He just looked at the oven. "..."

Lily sunk into Force's arms and her heart dropped to her stomach when she realized what AWOL was saying. How would Force's work react if they found out she had a child..? Force never went into detail of what they had done to her, but would they approve of her having a true family? Lily shook a bit. What danger had she put them into? Lily sniffled a little, tearing up a bit.

"I-I don't care. It'll be ok... I-I just want a family, okay? A real family..." Force began to cry a little, covering her eyes with one hand. "G-God dammit, AWOL... You're... You're right..."  
AWOL stayed silent, watching as the oven finished and cooled down. The baby was done cooking.

Lily waited for a moment, and wiggled out of Force's hold. She approached the oven and opened it with shaky hands.. And gasped.  
It was most definitely their child. Beautiful, red hair like Force's, as proportionally long as Lily's own. A design obviously similar to the star candy rested on her head. So beautiful... Lily reached to take the child, still holding her breath. "Force. Look." Her voice was a whisper.

Force looked over to see their daughter, her head throbbing in pain. What had she done? This was a disaster waiting to happen... But yet... Looking at that baby made her feel different.  
She felt a warm feeling wash over her, and she got the strongest desire to hold that child; to protect it.   
"A-ahh..." She whined a little, unable to form words. She crawled over to Lily's side, and sat up. She reached over to gently rub their daughter's cheek, crying again. "S-she's beautiful... I-I love her..."  
AWOL looked grim where he sat, but he didn't intervene.

Lily could no longer stop herself. Tears ran down her cheeks as she cradled the baby cookie in her arms. She sat down on the ground, holding the baby as delicately as she could. "I love her.. Force, she looks so much like you.." she couldn't hold back her sobs. This was a mistake, and she now understood, far too late. Not the baby, but.. The idea. The baby opened her eyes and Lily gasped again. "Force. She's looking at you, see?" She selectively ignored AWOL. Force didn't deserve to feel any worse about this.

"...She's... Oh, baby girl..." Force reached over to carefully take the baby from Lily, and cradle her in her strong arms. She wiped her eyes, and forced a smile at the little beb.   
"Hi, baby... You shouldn't know me... But I love you..." She kissed her daughter's forehead.

Lily put her hands over her face, the only visible sign that she was crying being her shaking shoulders. She took a few long deep breaths and leaned against Force's side, placing a hand on the small child's cheek. "...S-she's ours, love. I don't believe it.. We have to come up with a name for her.." She glanced back to AWOL. "Any ideas..?"

AWOL took a long look at the baby. He let out a small series of beeps quietly, and Force nodded.   
"Starfruit Cookie... It's perfect... Just like her."  
AWOL beeped some more, Force looking unhappy. "...I know. Lily... Take Starfruit back to your place... Make a bed for her... She needs a proper home, not an animal den... But I can't provide.." she handed Starfruit back to Lily. "I-I need to go..."

Tiger Lily went pale. "Force... I don't know.. I've never taken care of someone so.. Delicate.. I'll try.." She bit her lip and looked away, still rubbing tears out of her eyes. "I can't give her a proper home on my own.. I can try, but.." Her head turned back to Force when she tried to let herself leave. "W-Wait, where are you going?" She tried to follow Force without jostling Starfruit too much.

"You'll try and you'll succeed! Because I'm in much worse condition to raise a child than you.." Force said as she stood up and walked a few steps away.  
"I'm leaving... I'm not in my right mind right now, and this is all so overwhelming... If I stay, Starfruit will be in serious danger, I'm sorry."

Lily was going to follow her, but stopped when Force mentioned that their child would be in danger. "What do you mean..? Force.. What will your officials do if they find out about Starfruit or me?" She stepped back a bit. What had she done, bringing a child into this world under these circumstances..?

"...I don't know what exactly... But I can predict that they'd do to Starfruit what they did to me." She clenched her fists, starting to shake a little. "I would never, in a million years, subject her to that torture. I don't know what they'd do to you, but I'm not finding out."

"Force.. I... You have to help me protect her, then.. I can only do so much, but if they do find her.. What can i do..?" She gently rocked Starfruit, as she babbled a little bit and Lily hushed her softly. "I want you to promise that you'll come back at least somewhat often to help me with her. She needs to know both of her mothers."

"O-of course I'll help protect her... I'll come by every once and awhile- W-WHA-- NO!!" Force span around with that sudden outburst. "She can't know I'm her mother. Not yet... No... As far as Starfruit is concerned... I'm a family friend."

"Force, you can't hide that! How many cookies have red hair? She can't be that dense to not realize it, she's your child, after all.." Lily looked almost hurt by this. She held Starfruit close and gazed lovingly at her. "Force.. I love you. And our baby girl.. She doesn't know you yet but i'm sure she loves you too. And we need you, love..." Lily felt broken. Had she gained a child and lost her lover?

"I'll dye it then.. Black, or, brown, or something..." Force looked away, anxiously raking her fingers through her hair.   
"I love you too, Lily. I love you with all my heart... Starfruit too... That's why I have to stay away... Act like it never happened."

Lily felt betrayed. She understood why, but this was their child! How could Force leave them so easily-!  
Then it hit her. This WASN'T easy for Force. She was hurting just as much, but she had a responsibility. Lily's expression softened and she closed the distance between them and got on her tiptoes to kiss Force. "...I understand, even though i don't like it. Please make it a point to come back often, i'll miss you a whole lot, too."

Force nodded, kissing back. She took one last look at the child, their child, and sighed. "I'm so sorry, Lily... I just... I was raised into this job. I know too much to quit."  
AWOL didn't know what to do. He felt he had to do something, anything. So, he did what he did best. He created a graham cracker and held it in his mouth, and then gave it to Starfruit. "..."

Starfruit stared at AWOL with wide, innocent eyes, then smiled brightly and reached out to have a shaky grip on the cracker. She let out a soft squeal and took a huge bite of it. She finished it rather quickly and reached both arms out. She seemed to want to hug AWOL. She liked him. He gave snacks.  
Lily said nothing, but nodded at Force and cradled Starfruit closely, a bit surprised at her child's action. "AWOL. Look."

AWOL looked down at Starfruit. "???" He stared at her, before realizing what she wanted based on her gestures. He frowned, and leaned in to let the child grab him, albeit reluctantly.  
Force looked back to watch. "AWOL?..." This was the most physical affection he's ever willingly expressed in his life.

Starfruit snuggled up AWOL. She'd only just met him, but she liked him very much, as if she'd known him for years. After a few seconds of cuddles, she mimicked her mother's actions and kissed him happily before releasing him. She continued her happy babbling. Lily smiled a bit. "She likes you more than i do."

That feel when inherited memories make u fond of people you just met. Better than inherited memories as nightmares tho.   
AWOL got stars in his eyes, accepting the cuddles and said in beeps, "BABY... SO SWEET AND KIND. I'M SORRY THE WORLD HATES YOU, BECAUSE I LOVE YOU." And Starfruit could understand, but nobody knew that.

Starfruit waved her hands happily at AWOL. She understood the words, but not really the meaning. All she knew was that AWOL was her friend. He loves her. Like her mamas did.. She smiled at him and made grabby hands for him. Lily couldn't help but look at AWOL in surprise. "She really does like you. Hmm." She honestly didn't like AWOL much at the moment, but he definitely made her daughter happy. He seemed to like her, as well.

AWOL knew he couldn't stay here forever. So, he made one more graham cracker and gave it to Starfruit. "FAREWELL, LITTLE CHILD. I WISH YOU LUCK ON GROWING UP AND LIVING IN GENERAL." He then floated up to Force's side.   
Force started walking. "I'll be back, love, I promise..."

Starfruit frowned a little, but instead of crying at AWOL's departure she just silently nibbled on the cracker AWOL had given her. Lily felt she should have said something to Force, but all Lily could do was watch as her only love walked out on her, leaving her with a child and no one else to help. She was very tired, but she was sure sleep wouldn't curb the intense fears she held in her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Force had kept her word from that night. She dyed her hair jet black, and for ten long years she kept Starfruit a secret from the agency. They had built a little jungle cottage for Starfruit to live in (much better quality than Muay Thai's shit house), and Force visited as much as she could, restraining herself from being affectionate with Lily when Starfruit was there. She had to act like just a family friend for a decade. The few times Force and Lily were alone, they'd kiss and maybe fuck. But that wasn't often.  
It was early in the morning today, and around time for the young child to wake up from another confusing nightmare. Force was there outside the home with Lily, while AWOL was inside, watching Starfruit as she slept.

Lily was currently trying to kiss on Force's lips and trying to get her to show a little intimacy since Starfruit was napping. However, she felt her entire body shake as she heard Starfruit wake up, sobbing. "Not again.." Lily gave a weak, tired sigh and hurried inside to comfort her child.  
Starfruit was bawling, her face red. She was hiccuping badly enough that she could hardly breathe between them. She held her arms out and pulled AWOL close to her chest, shaking and sobbing. She hated these nightmares, where the men in clean coats and bright lights strapped her down and put needles in her, forcing her beyond any of her possible limits, it all hurt..  She nuzzled into AWOL, unable to stop her hands from shaking.

Force sighed, wanting desperately to hold her child and tell her it was okay, but she couldn't... She couldn't let Starfruit know. She just stood, leaning against a tree, adjusting her hat with her head down. "..."  
AWOL beeped sadly, "POOR PITIFUL CHILD. I WILL ALLOW YOU TO CLUTCH ME THIS TIGHTLY ONLY BECAUSE I HAVE A LIKING FOR YOU. YOU DO NOT DESERVE THIS." He didn't know she could understand him yet.

Starfruit had managed to even out her breath a bit, so she didn't sound as pathetic now. She loosened her grip on AWOL and sniffled. Just a dream.. Just a dream.. She tried to calm herself, but it wasn't working quickly enough. Lily ran in, and seeing that Starfruit had begun to calm down, relaxed against the door frame. "Are you okay, baby? Was it the dreams again?" She sounded exhausted, but worried. She needed help, these nightmares were getting out of hand.

AWOL didn't say anything after that, he just let himself be held close and frowned. Force couldn't help herself, and walked into the room, looking as casual as she could. "Hey, kiddo, you alright?" She sat on the bed and looked at her poor daughter. "Bad dream?"

Starfruit looked up to Force and sniffled a little. She figured AWOL needed to breathe so she let go of him and nodded at Force. She tried to speak. "I-I.. Unh, it w-was.. Yeah.." Starfruit rubbed her eyes and sat up, hugging Force tightly. She wasn't sure that Force would be okay with it, but.. Starfruit needed hugs. Lily said nothing.

Force took the hug by surprise, but it made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. She put an arm around Starfruit, patting her back. "You'll be okay, Star. It was just a dream, right?"  
Force felt sick to her stomach. Star had described her nightmares and they sounded a lot like Force's past... Why did Star have to inherit her horrible memories??

Star nodded shakily and hugged tighter, since Force seemed okay with it. She felt so much safer in Force's arms.. "Is that what doctors really do..?" Her voice was a whisper.  
Lily moved to sit next to her and draped her arm around Star, looking sadly at Force. "Her nightmares are getting so common.."

"...No, only the worst of the worst do that." Force assured. "Your mother and I won't ever let those mean doctors get you."  
AWOL beeped, again assuming only Force understood, "THOSE SOUND LIKE THE SCIENTISTS TO ME. OUCH."

Star cuddled into both women, sighing shakily as she heard Force's words. She felt her stomach hurt when she heard AWOL, and curled up closer to Force. "..I don't like needles. Don't make me get them.." She was still quivering from fear a bit. Lily looked at a loss.

"...We won't, Star... Have you been having these dreams a lot?... Would you mind describing the similarities between them all?" Force was afraid of what she might hear.  
AWOL shook his head, "I HAVE A FEELING I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON."

Star shuddered and looked down. "...Yes.. I'm always on a table and.." She traced her fingers over her wrists. "Strapped down by here. They take my blood. Hold me down, put needles in. I can't yell at them.. I don't know who they talk about during it. I'm.. Their experiment. They... They called me Anabella, but.. I don't know anyone named that." She was still sniffly, but rubbed her eyes with her fists.

Force suddenly felt horribly, horribly sick. Good god, this was all her fault her daughter was suffering.. and if Starfruit ever found out... Oh no...  
Force seemed paler and much more bothered than usual. "A-ah... Is that so, huh? Oh would you look at the time..." She stood up.  
"I'm sorry I can't stay... I, uh, forgot I have another task to do... Mmgh, good luck on those dreams, Star... Bye!" Force left at a brisk pace, once she got outside, she felt like throwing up. She then ran.  
AWOL looked just as upset, but didn't immediately leave. "ANABELLA... OH NO. SPECIAL FORCE..."

Starfruit looked upset when Force suddenly left, and let out a low whine. Tiger Lily stared in shock for a moment at how quickly Force had gone. She turned back to Star and gave her a shaky smile. "Stay here, Star. Watch her for a moment, AWOL." She turned to walk calmly out the door, then ran full sprint once she had gone outside. "FOOORCE! GET BACK HERE!"  
Starfruit looked equally upset and confused, she turned to AWOL. "...Did i say something wrong..?"

Force yelled, "NO!! BACK OFF, LILY!!" And she kept running. But Lily, being a cat, was faster than her.  
AWOL looked at Star, and just frowned in silence. He shook his head though, knowing she understood that. He thought to himself, and thought out loud, "I HAVE NEVER SEEN LILY SO ANGRY AT HER LOVE BEFORE. THIS IS SERIOUS... DAMN DREAMS."

Lily was gaining quickly on Force, and eventually pounced on her back, dragging them both to the ground, with Lily on top. "Force, this has gone on long enough! Star needs both her mothers, and I need you to help me take care of her! It's been 10 years, she deserves to know!"  
Star looked to AWOL, trying not to look surprised. 'Her love'..? Was her mom in love with Force? Is that why she was around so much? "..AWOL... Are my mom and Force in love?"

Force struggled against Lily, still trying to escape. Her hat ended up falling off, letting the rest of her dyed black hair go everywhere. "Lily, I don't think you understand! What if the CIA gets a hold of her?! I'd much rather be safe than sorry! And if she doesn't know, me being away all the time wont hurt as much!!" Little did Force know, a member of the CIA already knew...  
AWOL made a face, and didn't respond. "..." He felt like he couldn't answer that. "........."

"Force.." Tiger Lily's voice wavered and she pushed her girlfriend flat against the dirt ground, tears now forming in her eyes. "I can't do this anymore. I'm not fit to be a mother, i never was. Reila could have taken care of Star better than me.." Lily bit her lip and whimpered softly. "Those nightmares she had.. They're your memories, aren't they? She's already hurting! But she loves you, just as much as i do. Don't close her off anymore..." She rubbed her tears out of her eyes with one hand and took a nervous breath. "Anabella.. It's a pretty name."  
Star got out of bed and reached to gently grab AWOL. "...You know, don't you. Please tell me.."

"...P-please.. Lily, don't make my decision more difficult... I-I can't... Lily, I love her, but... I want her to be safe..." Force began to cry, no longer struggling under Lily. "You're not supposed to know my name... Nobody was."  
AWOL looked nervous, and tried to resist the puppy eyes, but he couldn't. He slowly nodded. "..."

Star didn't know how to react. Force was around a lot, and she saw her mother occasionally holding Force's hand when they thought she didn't notice, but poor Starfruit had no idea that her mother's friend was actually her girlfriend.  She got over it rather quickly however, and smiled at AWOL. "So if I ask Force.. Will she be my mother, too?" Ohh, the irony.  
Lily pulled Force into an embrace and shivered. "I won't call you that. You're Force. I... I want to keep her safe, too.. I don't want to agree with you, but I get it. Please, at least go back with me to give Star a real goodbye."

AWOL looked even more nervous, and beeped, "YOU HAVE NO IDEA, KID."  
"...O-okay... I'll do it. For our daughter." Force held Lily and kissed her head. "I'm sorry for everything..."

Starfruit raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what that look means, AWOL." she made her way to the entrance of the house, and looked out.  
Lily leaned into the kiss. "I need to apologize too. I shouldn't have guilted you.." She got off of Force and helped her girlfriend up. "Let's go, then."

AWOL hovered by Starfruit, afraid of what would happen once Lily and Force returned.  
Force stood up, and nodded. "Okay... Why do I have to work for the CIA...? I mean... I love my job sometimes, but not times like this."

"You told me yourself, I think. You can't leave, even if you wanted to. I don't understand how you could enjoy your work.." Lily moved to hold Force's hand and tiptoed to kiss her on the cheek. "I love you, but your work has always been in the way." She didn't want to start another argument, but she was still somewhat upset.  
Starfruit had lost interest in the chase, and went back inside, beckoning AWOL to follow. Maybe there was something for her to occupy herself with inside, since her mother was taking quite a while.

"...The adrenaline rushes I get... I love them. I love the rush that comes with battle.. I..." Force shook her head as she started walking. "I'm a monster for loving that."  
AWOL still stayed by Starfruit like a satellite. AWOL beeped, "IF ONLY I COULD GET AWAY WITH TELLING THE TRUTH."

"You're not a monster for liking that. I mean, I understand that sort of thrill, I get it when I hunt." She grinned at Force, showing off how sharp her canines were, a little reminder to Force that she wasn't that innocent, either. Generally, innocent girls don't rip out throats with their teeth. "That makes me a monster as well then."  
Starfruit sat back down on her bed, simply taking in the surroundings she saw everyday. "...AWOL, can you tell me if my mom and Force have liked each other for a while?" She was honestly curious about Force, maybe she would be okay with being her other mom.

"...Well, at least you have a reason for hunting. You need to survive that way..." Force didn't say anything else. She just grabbed her hat off the ground and put it on her head, feeling more and more dislike for her dyed black hair. "Let's go..."  
AWOL slowly nodded, looking down a bit. "..."

"That doesn't mean i should enjoy it, love." She carefully took back Force's hand when she picked her hat back up. Lily brushed a few black hairs out of Force's face, cupping her cheek in the process. "...You're just as beautiful as the day I met you.." A blush dusted her cheeks and she smiled lovingly at Force. As much as all this was stressing her out, Lily still very much loved her.  
Starfruit giggled a bit, covering her mouth with her hand. "So she's already like a mom to me!" She pulled AWOL into a hug and squeezed him a little. "Would that make you my older brother, AWOL?" She teased.

Force couldn't help but relax a little and smile when Lily said all that. She reached up and held Lily's hand. "Thank you... You're the only one who calls me beautiful like that... So genuinely."  
AWOL squeaked, and tried to escape Starfruit's grip. But he failed. "STARFRUIT... PLEASE DROP THE MOTHER SUBJECT. IT'LL BE BENEFICIAL."

Lily pulled Force into a hug, smushing her face into Force's chest and nuzzling against it appreciatively. Soft... "I know we should go, but.." She didn't want to leave. She missed being able to cuddle with Force and kiss her whenever she pleased. Sigh.  
Starfruit understood, but didn't say anything to him for a minute. Why was AWOL so determined to keep her from talking about this? "I'll ask her when she comes back. Mom will probably be dragging Force back soon. She's fast." Star grinned a bit and let go of AWOL when she noticed his struggle for freedom from her arms.

Force blushed, having gotten used to that at this point. "...Lily, really now... I promise I'll cuddle more tomorrow night when Starfruit is asleep... We need to talk to her now though. Off my boobs."  
AWOL shook his head. "DROP DROP DROP! BAD SUBJECT. LEADS TO DISASTER... I KNOW YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND ME, BUT... WAIT... WHAT IF YOU CAN?" Could Star possibly inherit the memory of Morse code? Oh no.

Starfruit looked away, suddenly looking guilty and upset. "...I didn't want to tell you, then you wouldn't talk to me anymore.." She looked down, feeling slightly sick. "I understand, AWOL. Why would it upset her so much, though?"  
Lily reluctantly pulled away, and took Force's hand. She began to walk back to their small home. "...So you're staying overnight?" She sounded happy.

"...Yes, I guess I will. I'm not expected back for three days." Force shrugged as they neared their house.  
"YOU COULD UNDERSTAND ME ALL THIS TIME AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME?! WHY I OUGHT TO--........." He cut himself off, staring at Star. "...YOU THOUGHT I'D STOP TALKING?... I DIDN'T KNOW YOU LIKED HEARING MY VOICE SO MUCH... I'M... AH."

"AWOL, I told you.. You're like a brother to me. You were nice even when you thought I couldn't understand you." She held her arms out to hug him. It was a bit upsetting, considering his reaction, but she still loved him like family. The same way she loved Force..  
Lily grinned, squeezed Force's hand, and kissed her cheek before gently letting go at the door and opening it. "Star! We're back!"

AWOL teared up, making beeping sounds that only formed nonsense as he began to cry. "KGSWKVSTKOD." He leaned on Star and accepted the hug, aww.  
Force blinked when she saw the scene. "Is AWOL okay...?"

Starfruit thought for a second, and smiled. Force knew Morse code as well, didn't she? Star reached over to the solid wooden support of the wall and gently knocked out 'YES' in Morse. She gently held AWOL and smiled a bit.  
Lily had no idea what was going on. As usual.

Force looked surprised, and frowned hard. "Star! Since when have you known the code?!" Force already suspected the reason...oh, this was going to be tough...

Star's happy expression dropped fast when she heard how upset Force sounded. She looked down and curled up instinctively, still holding AWOL as a support. Her voice had gone almost silent. "I thought you'd be happy, too." She refused to make eye contact.

"...Star... The whole reason we spoke in code was because there's some things we don't want you to hear!" Force held her head, getting stressed already. "You're too young to understand my reasoning... But my job is very dangerous, and... They wouldn't want you to know a lot of things... Ah, how do I explain...? Ugh!"

Starfruit went entirely silent. She began to tear up a bit and turned her back to Force. She petted AWOL as a distraction to keep herself from actually crying. However, her voice held the underlying waver of sobs. "I can't help knowing it. I've known it forever." She sunk down on the bed, now shaking a bit. "But AWOL is happy.."

"...Known it forever?" Force stopped, just looking at her poor daughter. "...Star, I... I'm so sorry... This is all my fault... Everything is... Please, don't cry..." She went over to Star's side and knelt down.  
"Star, I'm about to tell you something I refrained from telling you since you were a baby. I need you to promise me... Never, ever, tell anyone this. It could get you in a ton of trouble..."

Starfruit stopped crying when Force apologized, now only sniffling a little. She nodded. "Promise." She sat up straight, and looked at Force, her face a bit pink still from almost crying. "...Is it that you and mom love each other?"  
Tiger Lily practically jumped. How did she know that?!

Force was too tired of life to be too surprised. "Yes, something like that... But not quite..." Force took a deep breath.  
"Starfruit... I'm your mother... My DNA, along with Lily's, contributed to your creation..."

Starfruit froze. She didn't know what to say. She looked down at AWOL. So that was why he refused to tell her.. She looked back to Force and grinned happily, tears filling her eyes again for an entirely different reason. She placed AWOL aside threw herself into Force, hugging her tightly and sobbing a little. "Force.. Mom.." She sniffled and nuzzled her face against Force's shoulder, too incredibly happy to release her death grip. She had two mothers! She couldn't help but laugh amidst her happy crying. "That's why i know.."

"B-Baby girl..." Force squeezed Starfruit back, holding her closer than she has in a long time. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you this years ago... I just... I want you to be safe from the Cookie Intelligence Agency."

"..." Starfruit didn't understand, or really want to. If Force.. No, if her mother thinks she should stay away from that, then it must be dangerous. "So.. All this time, i've had two.. Huh." She seemed really happy about that. Every time she asked Lily who her other parent was, she would go quiet. But this explained everything except ths nightmares, and more importantly.. "Why is my hair red, then? Yours is black, and hers is green."  
While they spoke, Lily moved to sit next to the two, unable to hide her happiness. Not only did Starfruit know about her mother, she knew they were lovers! They didn't have to hide their affections anymore.. Lily gently rubbed Starfruit's back and smiled brightly, glancing to Force to answer.

The nightmares weren't something Force wanted to discuss. "Ah, that... My hair color isn't natural. I'm a natural redhead, Star. I just kept it dyed for ten years so you wouldn't suspect anything." Force laughed a bit, kissing Star's head.

Star accepted the forehead kiss happily, then reached to lift Force's cap off, pouting a little. "I wanna see it red, can you stop dying it?" She papped the cap back on Force and giggled a little. Her hair was sorta messy under the cap. Star pulled away from the hug so she could pick AWOL back up, who had been surprisingly quiet the whole time. She cuddled back against Force and closed her eyes, smiling.

 AWOL didn't feel the need to talk during that time. He let the love happen without interrupting it.  
"Of course I'll stop dying it, Star... You'll see my real hair in a week or two." Force smiled. Star was as cute as ever... Hopefully nothing goes wrong...


	3. Chapter 3

The happiness meter would soon come to a screeching halt the very next morning. It was early, like, 5:00 am. Science Cookie arrived at the doorstep of the happy family's residence. Special Force was peacefully asleep inside the house for once, and so was Star. Lily was probably out hunting at this hour.  
"...Hm... Nobody home?" Sci asked himself.

Lily had returned from a rather successful hunting trip, and was heading back home when she saw a man standing in front of the door. Her heart sunk. She noticed the logo on his jacket and... Oh, no. Ohhh no. CIA. Oh god. She stealthily ran a bit faster towards him, her heart pounding out of her chest. She readied her spear. "State your business for being here.

Ye, CIA. Science Cookie looked over at Tiger Lily, pushing his glasses up as he examined her. She seemed pretty wild... Not the usual citizen.  
"...I'm afraid I can't tell you that, ma'am. I have private business with Agent Special Force... And one more person related to her. Would you mind being so kind to let me inside?"

She looked at him with an obvious amount of disgust. "You're not welcome here. Leave. Otherwise i'll make you." She raised the spear back and hissed at him. However, she was terrified. They wanted Star and Force..  For what? She didn't want to find out.

"Oh, and why am I not welcome? I've done nothing to threaten you yet." Sci smiled, seemingly perfectly calm while being threatened with a spear. He put his hands in his coat pockets casually. "Now really, you shouldn't stand in my way, ma'am. This is official business."

"You're in my hunting territory, that makes you fair game. I haven't tasted cookie flesh in a while.. Leave before I change my mind." She grinned darkly, showing off her rather sharp teeth. She actually wasn't joking. If this man wanted to threaten her family, then she'd gouge him with her bare hands. And teeth.

"...Hah, do I really have to do this...?" He pulled what looked like some kind of syringe gun out of his pocket, and shot it at Tiger Lily. It was in taser mode, how nice. It electrocuted Lily to complete, yet temporary, paralysis. As she fell to the ground, he opened the door, he pulled out some kind of knockout spray, knowing how light of a sleeper Force was. He sprayed her in the face with it, and now that she wasn't a problem, he went to Star's bed, and tapped her. "Young lady. Rise and shine."

Star rolled over and groaned. She pulled the blanket over her head and nestled back into sleep. Too early. But something was off.. Whose voice was...? Her eyes snapped open and she stared fearfully at the man. She immediately crawled out of bed and into a corner, looking like a trapped animal. "MOM! MOM!" She couldn't run anywhere, however.

"Oh, don't panic, little miss. I'm not here to hurt you, I promise." Sci knelt down in front of her, holding his hands up. "Your mothers are taking a rather deep nap right now... But allow me to introduce myself. I'm your grandfather, Science Cookie." His silhouette was in some of those nightmare-memories. Joy.

She blinked a bit. Wasn't he one of the men in her nightmares? She couldn't remember if he was the one impaling her with needles or if he was the one who helped her afterwards. She took a less defensive stance, and glanced around. Where was AWOL? She whimpered a bit. "On which side? What's her name?" That was a bit of a stupid question, but she was using it as a reassurance.

"Special Force's side... But you know her real name, don't you?" Sci smiled a bit. "I watched over Special Force from when she was a baby to a fully trained adult..I know her better than most."

Star went quiet. She looked down at her feet, then slowly back up to Science Cookie. "What do you want from me?" She was still ready to flee at any given moment, but.. Maybe he could be trusted?

"I want to get to know you a little more, Star. And... Others like me are very interested in your gene combination. Your mothers are both strong... Would you mind coming with me?"

Her mother never told her she had a grandfather.. But she shakily took a step towards him and stopped. "Where are my moms? Are they going with me?" She still sounded a bit terrified.

"Agent Special Force is over there, sleeping. Your other mother is outside on the ground. She tried to attack me, so I had to do something as well... She'll be fine in an hour or two. They're not going with you, but you'll see them again very soon... Would you mind coming with me?" Sci stood up again, grabbing his syringe gun and handing it to Star.  
"Shoot me with this if you do not trust me, granddaughter."

"..." Starfruit held up the syringe gun to Science's chest, but hesitated with her finger on the trigger. "Why would she attack you if you're Force's dad..?" She held it out threateningly, but she was obviously more confused than anything. God, the one time she wanted to remember the details of the nightmares, she couldn't..

Sci suppressed a chuckle. He knew Star wouldn't be able to shoot him, she didn't have the courage. He didn't blame her though, she was only a child.  
"She didn't know I was her dad, simple as that. Tiger Lily isn't one who takes kindly to strangers." That's not the whole truth though.

Star lowered the gun a bit. "That's true, but.." She frowned and lowered the gun to her side. She didn't have an excuse not to go with him, other than the weird vibe she got from him, since all his info checked out. "I'm gonna ask Force if I can go." She began to walk into the only other room, which Force was unconscious in.

"...I wouldn't disturb her, if I were you. She's particularly sleepy today, I've noticed." Which is highly unusual for a soldier. Sci followed Star anyway, just to see what would happen.

Star hesitated in front of Force as she heard what Science said. However, she still grabbed Force's shoulder and gently shook her. "Mom.. Get up. Uuup." She frowned a bit, confused. Usually Force managed to wake up before she got close enough to shake her.. "What's wrong..?"

"...She looks unconscious to me. But she's still breathing, nothing to worry about." Sci smiled casually, taking his glasses off to clean them with a small cloth.

She turned to Science quickly, squeezing the gun in her hand a bit but not raising it. "Why is she unconscious? You know, don't you?" She glared at him accusingly, raising her voice a little.

Sci still remained strangely unbothered as he put his glasses back on. "Indeed. I sprayed her with this." He pulled a small spray bottle out of his coat pocket. It had no label. He put it back inside. "She hasn't seen me face to face in a long time, and unfortunately, growing up was hard for her, so she no longer trusts me like she used to. A shame, really. I needed her unconscious for safety precautions, no worries."

Starfruit looked to Force in horror, then back to Science. "How do you even know who I am? That's a secret..." She trailed off when she noticed a label on his lab coat and she felt her heart stop for a moment. Cookie Intelligence Agency. Why didn't she understand earlier? This was the people Force didn't want her to get caught by.. She glanced towards the doorway, now planning her escape.

"Your mother, Force, is pretty good at keeping secrets. But she can't keep them forever. Ten years ago, I thought it was strange she suddenly wanted to dye her hair black... As she liked her hair. But that was only the first sign that something was up.. And only recently did I find out what. She had a biological daughter she was trying to hide from the agency... A tragedy, really... And your other mother, Tiger Lily, so obviously being royalty... You have the most interesting gene combination I've ever laid eyes on, my dear. That's why we're so interested." Sci said, still smiling.

"...What? My mom isn't royalty. That's Princess Cookie. And i'm NOT a tragedy." She backed away from Science slowly, this was getting bad fast. She was confused and afraid.. What else had her parents hid from her? She had a straight shot to the door, and thanks to Lily, she was quite fast. She could escape him on foot.

"Princess had a long lost older sister, that being Tiger Lily. She was lost in the jungle at a young age and raised by a tiger, its pretty easy to figure this stuff out when you work for the CIA. Now come with me, and nobody gets hurt."

Star took a deep breath, and rushed through the door that had luckily been left open when Science had come in. She immediately ran into the nearby wooded area and screamed. "AWOL!!" She didn't expect him to be awake, however. Plus, he was still inside. Her main focus was escape now.

Sci sighed. He pulled out a walkie talkie and said some coded commands. He then started walking.  
AWOL awoke with a start. Star was screaming for help? He was there. He quickly floated over to the frightened child and beeped, "WHAT IS IT?"

Starfruit looked insanely relieved to see him, but the happiness didn't last long. "CIA. They found me. They know everything and Force and mom are unconscious-" She sobbed a little but quickly bit back her fear. "I need to get out of here. There was one in the house.. Science Cookie."

"OH NO... I AM NOT SURE I CAN SAVE YOU... I WILL BE HERE. HOLD ME CLOSE, HE WON'T TAKE ME AWAY." AWOL said frantically, letting Starfruit grab him. He'd at least keep her company in all this.  
But the bushes around them started to rustle... And soon, out popped many different candy and food pets. There were gummy bears, life savers, chocolate treats, animal shaped foods, anything. They all had one thing in common through, green jellybean headsets with the CIA logo on them, like AWOL's. And they all looked angry.  
AWOL started freaking out. "FLOUR DIVISION... FLOUR DIVISION.. FLOUR DIVISION..."

"W-What's Flour Division?!" Star gave AWOL a tight squeezed him as she turned, trying to see if there was any section of their entire circle of pets that was any weaker that she could maybe fight her way through, but she couldn't see one. She swallowed dryly. "What do you want with me?! Just leave me alone!" She felt a sense of dread well up inside her.

"I USED TO WORK FOR..." AWOL stammered, beginning to shiver under the angry stares.  
Science Cookie walked into the circle, the Flour Division letting him in. He chuckled. "Meet the Flour Division, Star. Graham Cracker, or should I say... AWOL Cracker, its been awhile."

Star hissed angrily at him. "LEAVE US ALONE!" Her eyes flickered towards the other pets, and she felt her heart sink to her toes when she felt AWOL shaking so much. They wouldn't hold back because of him, perhaps even the opposite. She pulled AWOL up closer to her face and began to whisper. "I need you to get back to the house. Make sure mom and Force know what happened. Please." She let go of AWOL and kept her eyes on Science.

AWOL didn't even bother to nod, he just screeched and zipped off. Science let him go, and turned back to Star.  
"Really, Star, you shouldn't be running. I mean, we're family, in a way. Heh..." He held his hands out nonthreateningly. "I promise. You coming with me will be for the good of science. And you'll see your mother again by tomorrow."

"You're awful." Star glared at him, but she didn't want to get Force hurt because she was resisting.. She nervously held out her hand and took Science's. She had no more words.  
Lily had been working hard to try and move, with very limited success. So far she'd managed to gain back control of her fingertips, but that was it. She had to hurry.. She saw Starfruit flee, so she was trying her fastest to free herself from this damn paralysis.

"Good girl.. So tell me... Have you been having... Visions of some sort that may not make sense? Perhaps in the form of dreams? What are they like?" Science asked, as he began to walk off with her. The Flour Division followed them closely, in an organized rectangular formation around them to protect them.  
AWOL zoomed over to Tiger Lily  first, beeping frantically. He saw her fingers moving a bit, and then huffed. She was paralyzed. He checked on Special Force, but upon realizing she was unconscious, floated back to Tiger Lily and bounced on top of her to try to get feeling back into her body again. It wasn't working super well, so Science and Star would be long gone by the time Tiger Lily regained control of her body.

Lily tried her best to strangle AWOL for bouncing on her, and to her surprise, she had gained enough control in her wrists to lift her hands, but not her arms. "Keep doing that." She was mainly muffled, but AWOL probably understood.  
Star looked to Science and thought for a second. Should she tell him...? "...Maybe. I don't know if they're actual visions or just weird dreams. Usually, i'm getting hurt." She glared at him. "Or tortured."

AWOL did just that. He kept bouncing all over her, hoping it would loosen up the muscles. "!!!"  
"Is that so? What kind of hurt, or torture? Scientists like me like to have details, so no need to be vague." Science said, looking down at her.

Okay, this was aggravating. However, Lily turned her irritation into pure willpower and within a few minutes had managed to get her arms back under her control. Nice.  
"...There's usually two specific ones. In one..." She hesitated. If she told him about the needles.. They would use that against her, wouldn't they? "...it's a battlefield or something. I'm getting shot, and it hurts but i have to keep going, they get upset if I stop." She went silent for a moment.

AWOL kept doing it, more furiously this time. Come onnnn, get unstuck!  
Sci nodded slowly. "I see... Anything unusual about your body in those dreams? Describe it."

It progressed much faster now, within 5 minutes she was almost entirely free. She managed to push herself into a sitting position and stretch her legs out. She still couldn't move from the knee down, but she could crawl at least. She went to get her spear and crawled back to AWOL. "Where's Force?"  
"I don't have any control... Even when i should be tired, my body keeps moving even though it hurts everywhere. It didn't feel right." She didn't want to look at him. His face was beginning to upset her.

AWOL gestured to inside the house, now bouncing more on her calves.  
Sci continued to study her. "It was like it was moving on it's own, huh? But it still hurt even though you couldn't stop? I see..." Sci looked away to think for a moment. "I think I know the problem, Starfruit. Those are your mother, Agent Special Force's memories."

Lily tried to crawl her way inside, but the sensation in her legs returned. She paused for a moment, and right as AWOL did another bounce, threw her leg up to send AWOL flying a few feet. "Thanks." She stood and ran inside.  
Star turned to stare at him. That was why Force was so uncomfortable talking about the nightmares.. "...You did all that to my mom?" She pulled her hand away from Science.

AWOL screeched as he flew, smacking into the wall of the house. "!!!" He beeped angrily, floating back up to follow Tiger Lily.  
Force was still pretty unconscious, but it should be wearing off soon. She didn't inhale too much.  
"Do what? All we did was make her stronger. She was becoming more and more perfect every day of training, and now she's our most valued soldier. She should be happy." Sci put his hands behind his back now.

Lily dropped to Force's side and papped her face gently, then a little harder. "Wake up. Now." Slap.  
Star looked absolutely furious. "You injected her with needles. You experimented on her. You turned her into a soldier. Did you ever ask if SHE wanted this?!" She was full on yelling now.

After the slap, Force woke up, startled. "Ah-!! Ohh... Ah... Why am I so groggy...?" She rubbed her eyes and stretched. "What is it, love?"  
"Oh, Starfruit, believe me. She wanted it. Ever since she was a little child she wanted to be in the army. Fighting for what was right always intrigued her. She wanted to be strong and she wanted to look at herself in the mirror one day and be happy with what she saw." Sci said, his glasses doing the anime shine thing. "We gave her what she wanted. She just had frequent painful reminders that the path she chose for greatness was tougher than her child brain could ever dream of imagining."

 Lily grabbed Force's wrists and pulled her up urgently. "The CIA. They knocked me out and I think they took Starfruit. I saw one of them chasing her into the jungle. AWOL knows better than I do. We need to hurry."  
Star had a disgusted expression on her face. "She was so young. How could you think she really wanted that?" Star held her arms and bit her lip, shaking a little. "How could anyone want this...?"

"WHAT?!" Force jumped up, grabbing her gun and using her free hand to grab AWOL. "TELL ME EVERYTHING!!" She yelled, demanding the poor cracker answers.  
In a panic, AWOL beeped as fast as he could while still understandable. He explained how Starfruit came to him and alerted him, soon pursued by the Flour Division and Science. And here he was now.  
"The flour division... W-wait, Science Cookie?! N-no... I... DAMMIT!" She punched a whole right through the wall, seething in rage and fear for her daughter. "T-there has to be something I can... Do... Argh!! This is why I couldn't have a kid!!" She dropped her gun, grabbing her head and yanking at her dyed hair.

Tiger Lily immediately went to Force's side, a hand on her side to try and comfort and calm her love down. "I know you're upset, but we have to follow. I saw which way they went into the jungle. We can try and follow if we hurry."

"Lily! You don't understand! Now that they KNOW about her, she's not getting off their radar!" Force cried, looking and sounding almost hysterical now. "I'm so sorry I got you into this, love, but she's... She's not coming out of there easily... I'll go see her, since I work there, but..." She didn't continue. AWOL looked at her sadly.

Lily stepped back, now the gravity of the situation beginning to weigh down upon her. "...Am I going to see my daughter ever again, Force?" Her voice was strangely calm. Maybe it was because of how absolutely terrified she was. She almost didn't want to hear the answer.

"They have to let you at least see her... You're their mother... And... You're royalty, Lily. They have to..." Force breathed, "You're the lost princess. I'm sorry, I knew... I knew for awhile now..." She rubbed her forehead, already getting a killer headache from this.

"Royalty...? I'm.. not royalty.. The lost princess doesn't exist. If i was, I probably wouldn't have gotten tasered earlier.. But she died during the kingdom's fall. But you're right, they should let me see her, if we really can't stop them.." Lily was definitely at a loss. She couldn't think of a cohesive plan with all these accusations or royalty.

"Lily, you are. Think about it. The little girl in the broken photos in the ruins looks just like you... Where else would you have come from?" Force asked, now letting tears fall. "I'm sorry... So sorry for everything, Lily." She pulled Lily into a quick kiss, and then pulled away. "I need to go back to my work... I don't want to leave you, but... They won't let you in right away. I'll... I'll keep you informed." She pulled her walkie-talkie out of her pocket, handing it to Lily. "This is how I communicate to AWOL, it connects to his headset. I'll talk to you through it once I see Starfruit again. Goodbye..." She started to leave again, AWOL following her.

Lily took the walkie-talkie, and stared at the ground. She felt numb all over. She didn't say a word as Force left, only finally sobbing when Force left the building. She dropped to her knees and was unable to stop the tears rolling down her cheeks. What just happened? She'd just lost her entire family in one fell swoop. The only thing that was of some consolation.. She had a sister, didn't she? Princess Cookie. It did nothing to improve her overall mood. She forced herself up to stumble over to the door and look out, watching Force's retreating form silently, save for her sobs.

As Force ran, she took AWOL's headset from him and put it on, speaking to Lily. "Okay, can you hear me, babe? To talk back you have to press the button on top while you speak."  
Pretty soon for Starfruit and Science, they reached a strangely shaped tree. Sci tapped it, and it opened up, revealing a hidden passageway. "...Now come along, Star."  
One of the little pets came up to Sci in a panic, saying something in Morse code. Sci looked nervous. "Oh dear, she's up already? We'd better hurry...!"

Lily jumped when she heard Force's voice, but did as she instructed, swallowing back her sadness so Force wouldn't hear too much of it. "I hear you, love."  
Starfruit hesitated, and heard what the pet was saying. Something came to her with a jolt: this man might not know that she knows Morse. She hid her excitement, they were talking about one of her mothers, or maybe both.. They would rescue her. Force promised they wouldn't let the mean doctors have her. She turned back to Science, her voice defiant. "I don't want to go. All you're going to do is hurt me!"

"I can tell you're upset, Lily. But I promise, I'll take care of Starfruit... And once the time is right, I'll... Send somebody to come get you too. You have authority, right...? Ugh..."  
Science frowned at Starfruit. "Now don't be like that, Star. We're not going to hurt you, just study your genetic makeup to see how it'll affect you later in life. This is a first in Cookie Intelligence history, after all. Now come with me!" Sci didn't want to manhandle Star, so he ordered the Flour Division with a hand gesture to do it for her, and force her to walk into the passageway.

Tiger Lily said nothing. She already knew this was probably a lost cause, but she couldn't let herself believe that.  
"I know what you did to Force! That's what you're gonna do! FORCE!" She screeched as the wave of pets forced her along. She could see why AWOL might have left, these guys were jerks. She fought back, but there were too many and she was still only 10, her strength wasn't up to par with her mother's yet. The swept her into the passageway.

Force heard Starfruit's scream, and started running faster. "Starfruit!!" She cried, but by the time she got to the scene, the hidden passageway was already closed. She didn't seem to even notice it, and kept going.  
Science listened until Force's footsteps were gone. "Ah, coast it clear. And, quit your screaming, Star. I'm not going to do that right away, I technically need permission to put you through that training and junk.... Buuuut..." He smirked to himself, but shook it off. "Calm yourself. You'll see your mother again once we get to my lab at the facility. This path leads right to it."

Star thought about screaming again, but the presence of the entire Flour Division behind her advised her otherwise. She tried her best to glare a hole through Science. "...How do you sleep at night knowing that you tear families apart and destroy lives? For the sake of your Cookie Intelligence crap? Hmph." She had her back to him. What an awful cookie. She hated him, and he hadn't even done anything physical to her yet.

"Hah, I did nothing to tear your family apart. It's not like I'm preventing them from seeing you! For Pete's sake, Force works for us! Sheesh." Sci rolled his eyes, and kept walking.  
Eventually, they made it to the HQ. On the laboratory-side of it. It was definitely very sciency, had computers and ingredients and everything. It wasn't magic, though. Magic was this place's weakness.  
"You see, Star. I'm studying magic nowadays. We're all very interested in the science of it! All those wizards of the Kingdom and that old wizard city don't seem to care HOW it works, they just master how to get it TO work. It frustrates me, obviously..."

"...You ripped me away from mom..." There were many things Star wanted to yell at him, but she figured she wouldn't answer her. She was definitely surprised by the surroundings. She listened to Science and shook her head. She might as well converse with him a bit, if he really wasn't going to hurt her.. "That doesn't sound right. They have to know how it works if they ever want to make their magic better, right?"

"Well, if they know how it works, they won't tell us in frickin' legible English. They say magic cannot be explained by science alone. Well... They didn't phrase it exactly like that... I think that one old man with the purple eyes of fire and 'stache said magic is not something cookies of our /kind/ can understand if we do not open our minds. Hmph. Annoying." Science fiddled with some of his flasks. "And as for you, you'll be staying in that room back there."  
He pointed to what looked like a doctor's patient room in the back. It was relatively comfortable, but the atmosphere wasn't so nice here.  
"I'll call your mother in to see you soon."

She nodded and slowly went into the room, carefully observing the entire room for any sort of items to defend herself with in case it wasn't her mother who came in to see her. She sat down, glancing around the plain walls and furniture. It was nicer than her own house, but also felt much more hostile. Star missed her mothers, bad.

There wasn't much to do that with. But, as Science promised, Starfruit pretty quickly had a visitor.  
"Starfruit!!" Force cried as she barged into the patient room. She ran over to Star, and fell to her knees to hug her properly. "Ah... You're okay, I was afraid he... Mm.." She kissed her daughter's forehead. "You're safe.."

Starfruit threw her arms around Force, relief washing over her. There was no way they could do anything to her if Force said no, right? She had her mother in a death grip. "I'm safe now.. Force.. I... Was he telling me the truth about you...?" Her expression saddened very fast. "Are my dreams really your memories? I'm so sorry, Force.."

"...Yes, they are. No, honey, I'm the one who should be sorry... It's my DNA that makes you suffer, and got you into this mess... I wasn't... Thinking clearly when I made y-... You know what, never mind." Force sighed. "I'm going to get you out of here if it costs me my job... Or even my life. I want you to be free. Truly, free... Not bound by the organization or obligations..."

"No! Science told me they just wanted to look at something, maybe they'll let me go after that..! He said he needed permission to do anything bad, so just tell them no... I don't want anyone else getting hurt for me." He voice had gone quiet on the last sentence. "I'm scared, but... You told me you wouldn't let the bad scientists hurt me." She laid her head on Force's shoulder and sighed. "Is mom okay?"

"...I don't think it'll be that easy, sweetie... Science Cookie is... Really into what he does." Force gently rubbed Star's back, comfortingly. "Lily is fine... Here, talk to her." She took the headset off from around her shoulders, and put it on Star's head.

Star adjusted the headset and tapped it. "...Mom?"  
Lily jumped at the sudden sound and scrambled to get the walkie-talkie. "Star?! Baby? Are you okay?!"  
Star glanced at Force, smiling a bit now that she'd heard her mother's voice again. "I'm fine. Force is with me, but I don't know where we are."  
"...Thank god.." Lily slumped down on her and Force's bed, exhausted from worry. "Do you know when I can see you again?"  
Star shrugged, but promptly remembered that the action wasn't noticed. "I don't know. Soon, maybe." Her eyes opened a bit wider and looked to Force. "Did AWOL make it to you? Where is he?"

"Ah, AWOL... AWOL, get in here!" Force called, after remembering he didn't have his headset so she had to yell for him now.  
AWOL rushed in, but was relieved to see Star safe.  
"I AM HERE... YOU'RE OKAY, STAR."

Star pulled AWOL into a hug, no longer worried. AWOL was almost like a security blanket for her, nothing or no one bad could happen when she was holding him. "Yeah, i'm okay now.. I was scared that they might have chased you down, too."

"I AM OK." He quickly beeped, looking up at Star and smiling a little. "THEY DID NOT CHASE ME. BIG BROTHER WOULD NEVER GET HURT IF HE HELPS IT."  
Special Force ignored them, now just sitting on the floor, rubbing her forehead. So much shit was happening, and she was getting a headache. She needed to do something, she needed a plan. She didn't care if she lost her job, her daughter could not stay here.  
"Aarrggh... Ugh, Star... I'm so sorry..." Force picked her words carefully. "You might not see me... For awhile. I'm just... Sorry. Really sorry. I'll figure this out if it kills me." And it'll be quick...

Star grinned brightly and kissed AWOL on the cheek, nestling him closely. She looked to Force, confused. "Why are you apologizing? Can't we just leave once Science is done?" She moved over to Force, sitting on the floor next to her. She still didn't understand the severity of her situation.

"Science isn't one who takes no for an answer when it comes to his field." Force sighed. "I'll put it to you straight, Star. I doubt I'll be able to get you out of here. That's why I'm apologizing.." Of course, Force was lying. But she was only doing that because she knew Sci was within earshot.

"...But.. No, I don't want to stay here. This is where the bad scientists are! I can't... Not that!" She was beginning to panic, her heart had started to race and her sentences were starting to fracture a bit. She squeezed AWOL in a death grip, if he were a weaker cracker she probably would have broken him.

Force stared at Star, her expression pained. She couldn't say anymore, for Star's sake. She looked at her left wrist, rubbing it with a thumb. She put it down just as quickly, though, and got up.  
"I gotta go... I have work to attend to. Again, I'm sorry, Star... I love you, okay? Let go of AWOL."  
AWOL was panicked too. "?!?!?!" He made a face, not liking the hard squeezes.

Star felt her throat close a bit, her face scrunched up in an attempt to not start crying. She dropped, hell, practically threw AWOL from her arms and instead covered her face with her hands. "You can't leave me.. I.. Mom.." She said no more, but began to sob.

"...I want you to remember I love you, Star. Everything I do, I do for you." Force hated herself for doing this, but it had to be done. She grabbed the headphones and put them back on the dazed AWOL, and then left.  
AWOL looked back at Star. "...BE STRONG, SMALL SIS." He then turned around to follow Force.

Star watched them leave between her fingertips, unable to hide her pained sobs. She didn't want them to leave, she was already so terrified. She finally summoned up the courage to scream after Force left the room. "YOU PROMISED! FORCE, YOU PROMISED!" Star pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, laying her head down there. She no longer hid her crying.

Force felt as if she had been stabbed, but she kept on walking, her expression neutral; waning on angry. It hurt, it hurt so much do this. But she knew she would get Star out of here somehow... Within a week, ideally. But, her plan was risky and to reduce suspicion, she'd need a bit of time.  
Science stepped into the room now, cheerfully smiling. "Now now, little girl! Don't cry! Your mother is only doing what's best for the organization, and her job. Now then, I'll start with a hair sample..." He plucked a strand of hair off of Star, and promptly left again. "Get some sleep, Starfruit. We got an exciting week ahead of us!"

Star didn't move as Science tried to come in and talk sweet to her. She winced when she felt him pull a hair out, but managed to suppress her crying until he had left. He didn't deserve her tears.  
This was going to be the worst week of her life.


	4. Chapter 4

Her prediction was accurate. The entire week was nonstop experimentations, iv's and needles.. The scientists working on her didn't actually attempt to sedate her until the fourth day, until her screams and threats began to irritate them, she assumed. She wanted to make herself numb to the world but she just couldn't. Now it was the seventh day, and she could tell the day would be a little different.

The sky began to show it was dusk outside, the day's experiments were soon over. Starfruit would wake up on the cold operation table again, Science, untying her. Her muscles were extremely sore now, but they were incredibly strong, and flexible at this point. Unnatural for a kid her age.  
"You did good, Star! You waking up yet? Hey, try and test out your eyeballs in this lighting. Your eyesight should be like a cat's now." Science explained enthusiastically, now going over to his fancy computer now that she was untied. All the other scientists had gone, leaving just them.

Star whimpered and opened her eyes, quickly adjusting to the darkness. She felt like death. She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position and shivered a bit. This was the worst round of testing yet.. She waited until his back was turned to him computer to speak. "..Why are you doing this?" Didn't he need consent or something? Not that something like that would stop him.

"I've given you the answer to that quite a few times already, Star. It's for science!" He grinned, looking back at her, his glasses glinting. "But you aren't accepting that answer anymore, are you? Fine, I'll tell you my real reason. I'm working to create a mixture of some kind that will create the ultimate super-soldier out of more... Willing participants. I want their bodies to resist magic, for only then is our army unstoppable!!" He started laughing, and it was more than clear he was a madman.  
"Aha... And you, my dear, are very important. The royal family has magical blood, at least more so than the average cookie. You being royalty gives me a distinct advantage in solving this riddle... Bringing me one step closer to PERFECTION! HAHAHA!"

"You're stupid. And crazy. You sound like you're trying to take over the world." Star kept her eyes on him. She could see a taser gun sticking out of his back pocket. And she was no longer restrained. She didn't want to jinx herself, but..  
She might have a chance.

"Do I? That's silly. You're biased." Science stopped laughing, but continued to smile. He turned around to face her now. "Say... I haven't told you the hilariously ironic news. Your mother went AWOL. She's gone, probably ran off because of the guilt eating away at her, kehehe..."

Any plan Starfruit might have had for escape promptly disappeared. She couldn't breathe. "No." There was no way her mother would.. Oh god. Her stomach had twisted into a tight knot, she felt ill. Her expression was broken up. "N-no.." She felt tears spill down her cheeks. This couldn't happen! Force left her here?! She felt as if she'd been punched.

Science shrugged. "Oh well. Whatever her reasons be, I don't care. I expected a bit more from her, though. Disappointing."

The door to the lab opened, revealing a tall, black haired man in a Special Force uniform, beret and all, with this his one more formal looking with a proper jacket and such. He had a mustache, and a faint beard to match. The tips of his hair was starting to turn grey, and he looked strong and intimidating.  
"Science Cookie. I'm here to take a look at your progress with Project Starcade..."  
"Oh, yes, of course, Beret Cookie!" Science laughed nervously. It seemed Beret had some kind of authority over him. "C-Commander. Here she is...." Sci looked over at Star, hissing, "(Stop crying!!)"

Star looked at Beret, and immediately tried to stop her tears out of complete fear. This man seemed to tower over her, and there was authority in his voice. She managed to stifle herself to a sniffle, and kept her gaze down to avoid eye contact. "Commander." She acknowledged.

"..." Beret just stared at Starfruit, squinting. He looked back at Sci, asking, "Have you been treating this child right?"  
"Y-yes, of course! I'm doing my best to make sure she's fine..." Sci shook a little. "But, ah, she's coming along nicely. Soon we'll be able to make our army magic-proof!"  
Beret's lip twitched slightly. "Good. Starfruit. Raise your arm and flex for me, as hard as you can." He ordered, one hand behind his back and the other one out, wanting to check and see if her muscles actually were overly developed.

What a liar! Star was tempted to tell Beret the truth of what they'd done to her, he already seemed pretty suspicious of Science, but the possible backlash of that scared her into remaining silent. She did as Beret ordered, still looking down.

Beret reached over to feel Star's arms, pressing down with his fingertips, and wordlessly moved down the arm. He had no visible emotion in his face, only blinking when he pressed down on her wrist. He took his hand away, putting it back behind his back.  
"Impressive. You may stop now, Star... Now Science, tell me how you did this. How far are you from the end goal?"  
"Not far at all, commander. One more week, and we might be able to solve this mystical magic mystery!" He turned back to his computer, typing in some long passwords to reach his notes and research.  
From where Star was sitting, she could see something shiny get adjusted in Beret's hands behind his back. With the cat vision, she could see it was a switchblade.

Star lowered her arm when prompted, and finally summoned the courage to look up at Beret. He looked tough.. But he was nicer than any one else had been so far. At least he pretended to care about her well being. She was unable to stop herself from whimpering when Science mentioned another week of absolute hell. She suddenly noticed the knife in Beret's hand..  
And his eyes weren't on her.

Science pulled up his notes, and tapped the screen. "See! Says here the royal blood most definitely contains some magic. Teeny tiny magic about the size of blood cells, but still something!"  
"That's very interesting, but..." Beret pulled the knife out, and shot it forward into Sci's back, causing him to cry out in agony, surprise, and confusion.  
" I don't like you much. " He said, as Sci struggled to breathe, coughing up blood over his keyboard.  
Sci croaked, "C-C-Commander... W-whhh... Hhh..." He couldn't form words anymore and just struggled to live longer.  
Beret extracted the blade, letting Sci just slump over his computer, gripping the table weakly. Beret pulled out a cloth and cleaned his blade off, and putting the cloth back in his pocket, and putting the blade away. "Starfruit, you're coming with me."

Starfruit was too paralyzed with fear to scream. Beret had just murdered Science. She should have been wanting to get as far away as possible, but.. "W-where are we going?" She wasn't in a rush to get away, especially from the man who killed her capturer (captor? They might have beefed her up, but she certainly wasn't any smarter). She got off the table and onto her feet, a bit shaky.

"Out. I'm busting you out." He went over to the door, opening it. He planned to escape out of the window down the hall.  
"Do not make any noise. We're going to get your mother first, then we're leaving. You have to trust me."

Star wordlessly approached Beret and grabbed his arm gently. Her voice was low enough that she wasn't sure Beret would actually be able to hear her. "You killed him. I already trust you." She couldn't help but smile. This was possibly her only actual chance for her to escape this hell and get back to her mother. Her smile faded a bit when she remembered. She never did get to see what Force's natural hair color looked like.

Beret smiled, and held Starfruit's hand now, and took off at a brisk pace, not bothering to close the door behind them. He said quietly, "You're a strong girl, living through hell and back."  
He reached the window, and pushed it open, lifting Starfruit and putting her outside of it first. It was a grassland, with trees in the distance. They really weren't in Kansas anymore.

Star tried to keep up with Beret's quick pace but his walking speed was her jogging. She seemed a bit surprised when she was lifted out the window, but she couldn't have been happier when her feet touched the grass, wonderfully soft in comparison to the cold lab floors. "Ah..." She knew that she should wait for Beret, but she couldn't help it. She began to excitedly run across the wide stretch of green, stopping and turning back to the facility before she got too far away. She saw Beret climb out as well, so she simply threw herself onto the ground and laughed a little.  
She was out.

Beret smiled, chuckling slightly. Starfruit was a cute kid. He pressed his two fingers to his ear, then saying out loud, "Graham, we're out. Pick us up A-S-A-P."  
Not a minute later, a near-silent stealth helicopter hovered above the two escapees, and dropped a sturdy rope ladder down.  
"Young ladies first." Beret bowed his head to Star. "We're going a long way. This lab is much farther than home than you think."

Star had never seen a real helicopter before, let alone be in one. So she was quite excited when she climbed up the ladder. She glanced around once she was inside. It was smaller than it looked on the outside. She found a seat and sat in it, waiting patiently for Beret to climb up as well. Maybe she could find out who he was on the way home. She didn't know yet how loud it was inside a helicopter.

Beret climbed up, and sat next to Star as the ladder got raised. "Off we go, then. Why don't we let the pilot introduce himself?"  
A familiar beeping sounded over the intercom as they flew away. "SORRY FOR DITCHING YOU FOR A WEEK, SIS."

Star gasped. "A-AWOL?!" She grinned and turned to Beret. "So do you know him? Were you a friend of Force's or something?" Star returned back to the intercom before he could possibly answer. "I'm just happy that you came back for me! Have you seen mom at all? She sounded super worried last time I talked to her." A hundred throughts were running through her head, but Star was too happy to speak anymore. She just relaxed into the seat and leaned against Beret.

Beret shrugged a little. "You could say that. I was her higher-up... " He gave Star's head a pat.  
AWOL beeped over the intercom system again, "ALL WILL BECOME CLEAR SOON. BUT YOUR MOM IS FINE." The helicopter turned and started heading south. "AS IS TIGER LILY. BUT SHE WASN'T INFORMED OF THIS."

Star closed her eyes and smiled dreamily. She was able to relax now, Force was okay! And since AWOL was here, she hadn't left her! Thank god.. "I knew he was wrong." However, this brought up another question. "Who are we picking up, then? Force or Mom?" She stayed nuzzled up to Beret's side, a bit of paranoia starting to kick in when she felt the helicopter lean into the turn.

"MOM." AWOL replied, falling silent again as he focused on his surroundings.  
Beret put an arm around Star, wanting to make sure she was safe. "You just sit tight. We'll be back to Primeval Jungle in no time."  
Tiger Lily was probably worried out of her goddamn mind right now too, since she hasn't gotten any response out of that walkie-talkie for a week.

Starfruit leaned in to Beret's side, eventually dozing off after a few minutes.  
It was the best nap she ever had.  
Lily groaned and rubbed her eyes, looking on the floor beside her bed. Reila was there, pawing at her. Lily turned over. "..No. I'm not getting up." A quiet roar. Lily sighed and glared at the butter tiger. "Because i'm not hungry. Shoo." Reila didn't take no for an answer, and instead plopped a fresh carcass down on the bed. Aggravated, Lily eventually grabbed a handful of the blood covered mess and crammed it in her mouth. "Happy?" She seemed to be. Lily curled back under the blankets. She hadn't sufficiently eaten in a week, and she looked more sickly than usual. But she didn't want to eat. Hell, she couldn't. She was too sick from worry to actually eat. But today felt different. So she ate.

It only took an hour to get there by helicopter. And there wasn't any place to land the damn copter, so AWOL just hovered it over the jungle as close as he could to the treetops, dropping the ladder down in front of Lily's house.  
"HERE." AWOL said, falling silent again in his cockpit.  
Beret gently shook Star awake. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty. We're home, but we can't land the copter. I'll accompany you to see your mother."

Star made a small groan, sitting up a bit. She yawned and stretched. "AWOLLLL, I wanna see youuu.." She smiled and stood, glancing toward the exit of the helicopter. It suddenly hit her, she was getting to be with her mother again! She peeked out, they were pretty high up, and climbed out. She grabbed the ladder and focused on getting to the bottom, not on how the ladder was practically swinging, even with her on it. She was about two thirds of the way down before she simply jumped, landing on her feet.  
Lily pulled herself from her meal as she heard the ladder being dropped. She cleaned herself off a bit, got most of the blood off her. Lily opened the door and had to stare. What the fuck is that.  
She tried to think for a bit, but stopped thinking when she saw a familiar redheaded cookie climbing down. "Star.." She slumped against the door frame and covered her mouth, tears filling her eyes.  
She caught sight of another cookie climbing down, but didn't recognize this one. It didn't matter, her daughter was okay.

Once Beret got to the ground, he walked over to Tiger Lily with Starfruit. He said, "Tiger Lily Cookie... We haven't much time. We need you to gather your stuff and get on the helicopter with us." He still would give time for happy reunion though.

Starfruit practically dove into her mother's arms, and Lily held her tight. "God, I missed you, baby.."  
Lily's eyes kept steady on Beret, however. She no longer trusted anyone with that damn CIA logo on them. Star tugged on her arm so they could run inside and grab their things. They didn't really have much of personal value. But there was the question Lily was afraid to ask. She approached Beret, not looking too happy. "What about Reila?" She knew she would have to leave her. But she didn't want to hear it.

"I'm afraid your butter tiger must stay here. It's her natural habitat, and she's a bit dangerous to bring on the copter with us." Beret crossed his arms, frowning. "Sorry to suddenly intrude, but the situation is urgent, and I'd be grateful if you'd cooperate, for your own safety."

Lily said nothing, but returned inside. She grabbed her spear and made sure her jelly flower was in her hair. She stopped in front of Reila, but didn't say anything. They both knew this would have to happen eventually. Lily dropped to her knees and hugged her.  
Star had gathered everything rather quickly, she held a small bag over her shoulder. All she really had was two or three small toys and a knife she was given for protective reasons only. Lily had meant to teach her how to hunt at some point, but.. She approached Beret and smiled. "I'm ready, sir." Lily was behind her, expressionless.

"After you, then." Beret stepped back and gestured for the other two girls to climb the ladder. "I'll explain what's to happen next up there."  
Once Starfruit and Tiger Lily were climbing the ladder, Beret followed them up. Once everyone was safe inside, AWOL raised the ladder and started flying east.

Lily was unhappy with this entire scenario. From the moment they started moving she tensed up and clung to Starfruit as if her life depended on it. Star was happy that she got to be on the helicopter again, and actually be awake for it. She tried to talk to Lily, but her mother was too petrified with fear to be responsive. She decided to bother Beret instead. "So where are we going?"

Beret frowned at Lily, but let her be. He looked down at Star, and then looked out the window.  
"We're going to the safest place I know, Star. The City of Wizards.." He fell quiet. He knew next to nothing about the city, but if he didn't know, neither did the CIA. That's what made it so safe in his eyes.

"But didn't Science say they were researching magic? Wouldn't they be there?" Lily couldn't help but stare at Beret. She wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words for it. It was probably just the clothes, but.. He.. Lily shook her head. She was tired. Not the time for thinking.

"No, they wouldn't be. The City Of Wizards strictly forbids the organization from entering with large numbers and tools of research, but... They should let us in. I haven't actually been inside it ever, I guess we'll see what happens." Beret explained, but then suddenly jolted.  
He stared down at his left wrist, his cool demeanor abandoned. "W-wait... They could track me with..."  
He pulled out his switchblade, stabbing himself in the wrist. He cried out in pain, but grit his teeth to shut himself up. He used his knife to pull what looked like a tiny metal box out if his wrist, and he tossed it out the window. He quickly grabbed bandages and wrapped the wound, taking deep breaths as he said, "Gggrn... They can't... Find me..."

Lily jumped back when Beret cried out, but Star began to panic as well. She had one of those too! They put it in her on the first day, 'Just in case' Science said. She moved quickly, now next to Beret and holding her wrist out to him, her voice panicky. "I-I watched them put one like that in me! Get it out!" Lily was completely confused, looking between the two.

"A-alright. It'll hurt..." Beret seemed to hesitate to hurt Starfruit, but he knew he had to do it. He wiped the knife off on that same cloth in his pocket, and then grabbed Star's wrist and cut into it. He used the tip to tear the tracking device out. He tossed it out of the window just as fast, and grabbed the bandages to stop Star's bleeding.  
"There... I'm so sorry, I... I thought they didn't put it in, I didn't feel it when I... Ugh... I feel lightheaded..."  
"ARE YOU OK?" AWOL beeped over the intercom.

"A-ahh.." Star was trying not to cry, and looked away when she felt the knife dig in. Lily was there, and gently held Star, kissing her and gently murmuring comforting words against her forehead. Star turned to look once Beret had finished. "I-it's okay, you had to.. I'm okay, AWOL. Beret?" She looked concerned, he looked as if he was about to pass out.

Beret felt like it too. He mumbled, "T-this is all my fault... Ruined everything... Myself... Lives..." He held his head and just breathed for a few moments, before getting it together again.  
"Hahh... I'm okay, Starfruit..." His voice seemed weaker and off-pitch. But he cleared his throat and it was all good. "I'm fine... We should be there soon. If we're lucky, no magic barrier will block our entry of the city."

Lily noticed it when Beret's voice seemed to change pitch.. And something clicked. She remained silent, however. She noticed Star was pulling away a bit and let her, watching as Star tried her best to comfort the older cookie. "We'll worry about that when we get there, but.. You're really okay?" Star hugged his arm and tried not to talk too loud.

"... Yes, I'm fine..." Beret sighed, relaxing slightly. Star was a sweet kid. "I'm okay... I just have a pretty tough life, you know. I'm sorry you got dragged into this mess..."  
AWOL announced, "APPROACHING THE CITY. NO MAGIC BARRIER, IT SEEMS."

"I don't care. I'm just happy that i'm out of that hell." She glanced back at Lily, she wasn't supposed to say that, but Lily just shook her head. "I don't care, baby. You can say anything now, I don't care."  
Star listened to the announcement and grinned. So they would actually make it.. She hugged Lily tightly and laughed a bit. This meant they were safe. Lily hugged back, smiling to herself.

"...Before we land... I.. I want to admit something to you both..." Beret said, looking down at his jacket, but then back at the other two.  
AWOL said, "YOUR MOTHER IS FINE, STAR."  
Beret nodded, letting his voice go back to normal. It was the same as Force's.  
"I always keep my promises." Beret? smiled at them. "I'm sorry I made you wait."


	5. Chapter 5

Lily nodded, smiling. "I knew it." Starfruit, however, didn't see it coming. "Force!" She jumped her mother, hugging her tightly and talking fast. "So you didn't go AWOL? How did you change your voice like that? Is that mustache real? You're a commander?" Lily moved closely and put her arms around Force's neck, kissing her.

Force laughed, hugging Starfruit tightly right back, no longer holding back her need to show affection to her daughter. "Haha, slow down with the questions, Star..." Force couldn't help but smile at her being smothered with love.  
"Calm down, everyone. I'll answer everything, just one at a time... I technically did go AWOL, since it just means I'm not at my post. I changed my voice with skill. And, no, silly goose. The mustache isn't real, but pretty convincing... And, uh..."  
Force was suddenly uncomfortable, and frowned. "No, I... I'm not a commander... At least, not technically, I... I took the place of the real commander... By force."

Star listened and nodded as Force talked. Lily bit her lip. She understood what 'by force' meant and she reached over to gently comfort Force. "You did what had to be done, love. I'm sorry." Lily nuzzled up to her girlfriend and embraced her. Star didn't seem to understand, but instead still happily hugged her. "I'm sorry I was so upset when you left.."

"It's alright, Star... I couldn't tell you my plans because I had to keep them a secret from Science Cookie. It seems I was successful..." She forced herself to smile. But her smile soon faded. "I'm not sure how I'm going to get out of this mess, though... I officially lost my job, so I can't go back. The CIA will most definitely be angry... I hope magic will help me somehow. But I'm so lost in this new world..."  
"CITY OF WIZARDS REACHED, LANDING INSIDE OPEN TOWN SQUARE AREA NOW. SUSPICIOUSLY EMPTY." AWOL told the other passengers, the helicopter now starting to descend how that it had room to land.

Star peeked out and 'oohed'. The city below them was something right out a storybook, with towers and irregular buildings bathed in an eternal moonlight. Lily watched as the landed and frowned. The city felt familiar to her, as if she'd been there before and a young age. Star felt the same and glanced at Lily. "Do you remember this place?"  
Lily nodded and turned to Force. "We have to land as quickly as possible and prove that we mean no harm. They WILL kill us otherwise."

Force nodded, and once the copter was safely on the ground, she stood up and hopped out. She expected to be greeted by angry wizards of any kind, but... Nobody was here. It was quiet. Too quiet.  
AWOL hovered out of the cockpit, and over to Star to try and hug her, despite having no arms. "SIS."  
Force squinted, looking around. "...It's a ghost town..."

Star grinned and hugged AWOL happily, twirling with him in her arms. "Big brother~" Lily jumped out as well, leaving her spear in the helicopter. "Star, put your knife back in the helicopter. Force, if you've got any more weapons, put them in." Star rummaged through her bag and placed the small knife, still in it's cover, back inside the helicopter. "How long ago was it, mom?" Lily glanced around and clung onto Force's arm. "I was so young, i'm not sure.." Her voice raised to a yell. "WE NEED HELP! WE WISH TO BE PROTECTED!"

Force pulled the switchblade out of her pocket, and put it in the helicopter as well. She felt a bit less safe without it, but she could fight with her fists... She still felt incredibly uneasy in this city though.  
For a moment after Lily's yell, there was nothing but silence. A few unpainted Mini Jacksons poked their heads out from in between the buildings, ready to attack the intruders. But, some sort of blue magical beam of lightning zapped them all and made them fall to the ground.  
The source of the beam was Wizard Cookie. He ran over to the three. He was aged at 24, since Starfruit took ten years to grow up and he was 14 at her birth. He said, "...Who are you three? Why are you here?"  
"Wizard Cookie... You certainly grew up a lot since I last saw you." Force mused, surprised at how puberty seemed to double Wizard's height.  
"I beg your pardon?" Wizard was confused. Who was this guy, exactly-  
"It's a disguise. It's me, Special Force."  
Wizard slowly nodded. "Ah, I see... I'd ask why, but you have never once answered a question straight to people outside this CIA business... But yeah, who are the other two? And why are you three here? You shouldn't be."

Lily didn't know who this guy was, but Force at least seemed okay with him. "We need a place to hide. This is the only place the CIA stays away from." Or, so she assumed. "I was here, once. With.. With my sister. Maybe.. 30 years ago? I'm not sure. But there were more people here last time.."  
Lily continued to analyze her surroundings, and Star looked at Wizard curiously. She could tell he was younger than her mothers, but still an adult. She was beginning to doubt that any other children actually existed.  
"You're a wizard.. That's pretty neat. I apparently have magic in me, too." Star grinned at him.

"...You're trying to escape the CIA? Then I, uh, guess you can stay here. Come with me, though. It's pretty desolate out here. I'll bring you to the library. That's where my dad is... He doesn't leave it much, he's pretty old."  
Wizard lead the family along, first going through a giant old potion shop.  
As they walked, he looked down at the ten year old holding AWOL. "Do you? Hm. Only the royal family has that." He rolled his eyes. "Us other wizards have to work harder to learn magic because of it... So, who are you, kid?"

"I'm Starfruit Cookie!" She picked up her pace a little so she was walking beside Wizard and in front of her mothers. "That makes sense, because my mom is royalty! That's why we're hiding."  
"Star!" Lily immediately reprimanded, and Star jolted a bit. "A-ah.. What did I say?" Lily grabbed Starfruit and pulled her back, whispering. "People don't know about me being the lost princess. You can't just tell anyone!"  
Star blinked. "Okay, I was wrong, Wizard. I'm not magic."  
Lily smacked her forehead with her palm.

Force smiled a bit, but otherwise didn't say anything. Star was cute.  
Wizard glanced back at Lily, raising a brow. "Huh. Well, that's nice. But we have more... Magical problems we're dealing with to worry about the kingdom. It's been fifteen years since it fell anyway."  
"Magical problems?" Force asked, tilting her head.  
"Why do you think this city is empty?" Wizard asked, as they entered a giant kitchen-dining room hybrid.

"Did they all.." Lily didn't want to finish. As far as she could remember, the city used to be filled with people, almost overpopulated. Were they all wiped out? Something about this situation made her nervous. She felt as if she was attached to this place, seeing it like this was depressing.  
Star went back to Wizard's side, excited, she tugged on his robes. "So you can use magic and stuff, right? Can I see?"  
Lily sighed. "Star.."

"...The story might be long and confusing for... Non-magic users. I'll let dad tell you. He's better at explaining things." Wizard looked grim, though. The story wasn't a pleasant one.  
"Oh, yes, of course, kid. Here..." He pointed his staff at one of the meatballs on the table, and zapped it with his magic. It turned into a butterfly.

Lily nodded and continued to follow, taking Force's hand and squeezing it. She turned to her girlfriend and tried to smile, but, the past- Damn, had it only been a week?- had definitely taken it's toll on her. She mouthed 'I love you' to Force then turned her attention back to Star.  
Star was currently flipping the fuck out. She chased after the meatball butterfly until it left her sight, then turned back to Wizard. "That's incredible! How long did you have to study magic to learn that?!"

Force smiled and nodded a bit. She loved Lily too, and wanted to kiss her, but her fake (yet incredibly convincing) mustache was in the way, and she didn't really feel like taking it off yet.  
Wizard looked quite proud of himself, appreciating the praise. "Well, I started studying when I was three, and I've been studying ever since. I consider myself pretty good at it."

"Since you were 3... I don't even think I was talking when I was 3!" Star sounded incredibly impressed, and clapped her hands together. "You ARE really good at it!"  
Lily watched Star gushing over Wizard and laughed a bit. Glancing at Force, she managed to have a genuine smile on her face. "You need to get that damn facial hair off, Force. It's starting to scare me with how real it looks."

"Why, thank you...~" Wizard tried to look cool, looking off into the distance and adjusting his hat. He was smiling under his scarf. He pointed ahead to the giant library, in which they entered. "Look, we're here. Dad should be on one of these shelves..."  
Force just laughed, using one finger to gently tug on her mustache, but it stayed. "Whaaat~? Do I not look handsome as man?"

Star couldn't help it, there were practically hearts in her eyes. She thought he was super cool.. "L-lead the way." She followed him like a puppy.  
Lily was still following behind Wizard, but she no longer kept an eye on the two, all her attention now on her girlfriend. She was honest to god laughing, she couldn't remember the last time she could feel this relaxed with Force. "You do, you do! But I wanna be able to kiss you without feeling like you're about to eat my face. That looks.. Scratchy."

Wizard paid it no mind, and looked around. He looked up and spotted his father, reading one if the giant books on a shelf. To read it, he had it propped up against the side of the shelf, open upright where he could read it. He sat in a small chair up there. It was crazy how some things in this city looked built for giants, and some not..  
Force crossed her arms, elbowing Lily. "Says the woman who was raised by a tiger, who had scratchy hair all over it. Heh."  
"Up there, you three. I'll get you up there." Wizard raised his staff, picking everybody up with his magic and making himself levitate, and flew them all up toward the shelf in question.  
"W-woah!! Easy there, Wizard!!" Force grabbed onto Lily when they were lifted.

"Excuse me? Reila is WAY softer then... That." Lily poked Force's mustache and grinned. She screamed, however, when she was picked up and pretty much jumped into Force's arms.  
Star's eyes grew wide and she laughed as she was lifted up as well. She watched Wizard, still awestruck by his skill.

Wizard put them all down behind Prophet Cookie, his adopted father. He approached the old man and said, "Dad, we have visitors..."  
"I know, Wizard. I saw them coming, in my visions..." Prophet said, his voice wheezy and wizened. "Turn me around, would you?"  
"Of course..." Wizard used his magic to lift Prophet and his chair up a few inches, and turn him around to face the three newcomers, putting him down then.  
Force let go of Lily, frowning. This guy looked old as fuck.  
Prophet looked at Star, in front of her parents. "You must be the little one... Starfruit, right?" He smiled a bit, he had a soft spot for kids.

Lily felt Force let go of her and readjusted herself on the ground dusting off her dress a little. She stared at the obviously old cookie.  
 Star grinned and posed. "Yeah, i'm Starfruit!" She dropped the silly pose and looked around. "This library.. It's kinda way too big. Huh.." Lily approached behind Star, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She stared at Prophet. "..You know who she is. I'm assuming you know why we're here, then?"

"I do know why you're here. Here to seek refuge against a... Very flawed organization. I'm just an old clairvoyant cookie, I don't know much about that... But, I do know what happened to this city, if you're curious to why it has no cookie residents besides us few." Prophet closed his near-sightless eyes as he spoke.  
Force nodded, "Yeah. Really curious. I'm also curious to why the city vanished off the map entirely for years before returning ten years ago."  
Prophet gently rubbed his crystal ball with a thumb. "Do not be hasty... For, I will tell you now... As I have... Personal experience with the city before the... Catastrophe happened."

Star seemed to realize the seriousness of the conversation, and sat down. Lily returned to Force, nuzzled up to her side, and got comfortable. She had a feeling this would be a long story.


	6. Chapter 6

"Where to begin... Ah... The city has been around for hundreds of years..." Prophet started. Get comfortable, everyone. This would get long. Wizard had already heard this story many times, and just levitated himself away for now.  
"Moonlight Cookie... Oh, the lovely and fair Mystic Moonlight... She was created to be the goddess that protected this city from powerful threats from outside. She was immensely powerful, and couldn't control all her powers fully at birth. In fact, I knew her personally... She is kind, and dreamlike. You go almost into a calm trance when you talk to her..."  
Prophet shook his head though. "But... Anyway." He cleared his throat. "One day, a great threat was upon the city, just what Moonlight was created to protect against. But the problem was, she was too young. She didn't know how to properly control her powers... I just managed to get out of the city before she... Did what she did."  
Force found this incredibly fascinating. She stayed quiet and attentive to Prophet's tale of woe, many thoughts going through her head at once.  
Prophet continued, "Moonlight casted a protection spell on the city. It all got surrounded by a dark mist that sparkled... Like stars. And then... It just vanished. The city simply wasn't there anymore..." Prophet coughed a bit before talking again. "It came back years later, empty... But we soon figured out what had happened. Moonlight had sent the city to her dream dimension to protect them... But she could not get them out. And when she did, she only brought back the city, not the inhabitants... All the wizards are still stuck in limbo in that dimension somewhere... And... Only Moonlight can bring them back, but her chamber is sealed."

Lily glanced over to Force a few times during his story but each time she seemed to be paying the utmost attention, looking fascinated. Lily simply nuzzled her cheek against Force's shoulder and listened.  
Star watched Wizard float away and go to do probably wizardy things, then turned her attention back to Prophet's story. She remained quiet through the entirety of it, then thought for a minute after. Her eyes lit up, as if she'd had an idea. "But what's keeping her chamber locked up? Can't we just ask her to bring them back?"

"A giant lock, missing seven gemstones is what is keeping her locked away by magic. I have a feeling she's in a deep sleep of her own... It is how she copes. We're hoping she actually can bring them back... Because if now, the city will lose many of its most powerful wizards forever. Plus, nobody deserves the fate of being in a dream forever." Prophet sighed. "Though, I have no idea what it would feel like to be in dreamland forever... I've only been there once. With... With her..." Prophet quieted down, looking away. "It was a good experience.."  
Force nodded slowly, taking it all in. "That's an... Interesting story, Prophet... Where are the gemstones?"  
"That's what we're trying to find out. We still haven't read every book in this library, and we're slowly restoring them to their undamaged states. We're hoping we'll get a lead on where the stones lie... In this book, it says, the largest and final one lies with the clock tower somewhere, but we've searched and found nothing but an aggressive guard robot at the top."

"...I wanna help look for them!" Star grinned and clapped her hands together. "Has it just been you two looking all this time? I could try and help~"  
Lily turned to look at Force and leaned in so that she would be heard at a whisper. "I think they wouldn't mind us staying if we helped, right?" She kissed Force's cheek and pulled away to smile at her. "Star seems to like it here, too.."

"We already found one, in the suspicious greenhouse... And-" Prophet was cut off by Wizard returning, holding a blue jewel in the shape of a four-pointed star.  
"Dad, I found another one!" Wizard exclaimed, "In one of the unread books!"  
"Oh, well... How nice! That leaves us with five more... We're making progress." Prophet smiled. "You all can definitely help."  
AWOL, seemingly forgotten about for a moment, caught up with the group with a huff. Force smiled at the kiss, and then at AWOL. "Hey, AWOL. Did you get lost? And, yeah... I'm glad Star is happy again."

Star turned back to her mothers and dove in to hug them both, since they were already cuddled up rather close. "So we're staying?"  
Lily nodded and shrugged a little. "You already seem to love this place. And the people that live here." Star's face went scarlet. Lily tried not to laugh and went back to kiss Force. She promptly pulled away, looking repulsed. "Get rid of the damn mustache or i'm tearing it off. Last chance."

"No, I like the mustache... I'm wearing it in honor of the commander." Force frowned, covering her face.  
Wizard put the gem in his pocket, and smiled at the family. "Heh, well, whoever wants to come with me on an expedition, they can. I think I have an idea to where the next gem is." Star would totally want to go.  
AWOL quietly beeped, "(STUPID PRETTY BOY...)"

Lily went quiet. This wasn't just a matter of Force being stubborn. She leaned in and kissed Force on the cheek. "I'm sorry. Wear it. You do look handsome with it, anyways." Lily knew that this had probably upset Force so she immediately nuzzled up and began to purr gently, enough so Force probably felt it.  
Star removed herself from her parents and ran to Wizard's side, a hand on his robes. "Can I go? I won't be any trouble!" She turned to AWOL rather quickly and glared. "No he's not! Stop it, brother!"

Force relaxed when Lily started to purr. She loved when her girlfriend did that. She put her arms around Lily, and stayed like that.  
Wizard raised a brow at AWOL. "What did he say...? Ah, but yes, you may come. Maybe I can teach you a spell or two. We're headed to the suspicious greenhouse."  
"...I'M COMING WITH." AWOL declared. Oh boy.

"H-he didn't say anything. At all." Star waved her hands a bit. Her eyes went wide, however, when he mentioned magic. "Ah? Yeah! I wanna learn magic too!" She glanced back to her mothers to see if it was okay, but both of them seemed occupied at the moment. Star gave AWOL a look, a bit suspicious. "Why do you wanna go with us? Wouldn't you rather stay with Force?" She just didn't want him interrupting while she tried to get Wizard to like her. Which he would, as a big brother, definitely do.

"TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOU." AWOL worried for his little sis, and didn't want her getting in trouble. He might also be a bit jealous of the attention she's giving Wizard.  
"...So the floating graham cracker is gonna follow us? Alright then, let's go." Wizard lifted Star up with magic, and flew off out of the library with her, AWOL following.  
"...So, why exactly does the fancy-schmancy intelligence agency want you anyway?" Wizard asked as they flew, trying to make small talk.

Star shrugged it off and began to float up. She grinned at the levitation and promptly forgot about AWOL's presence once Wizard began to talk. She grinned, she was pretty sure she could answer this. "Well, they said my DNA is special because my mothers. Force is super strong, and they also changed her up a bit, so I got her strength. See?" She made sure Wizard was watching when she flexed.  
"My other mom is sisters with the princess, so she has a little bit of magic in her. She's pretty strong, too. Her mom's a tiger." Star rambled.

"Uh." Lily's mom was a tiger? Huh. And royalty. This kid really had a lot going for her, Wizard thought. "Okay then, that's cool, I guess. Well, here we are. Watch out for the screaming baby plants." He dropped both of them off at the greenhouse, with AWOL catching up and huffing. Wizard ignored him.  
Wizard didn't notice, but there was some shuffling going on behind some large bushes. It sounded mechanical...

"Yeah, it's really cool. What do you mean, screaming baby pl-" Star accidentally stepped on one and it, well, screamed at her. She screamed too, and immediately latched onto Wizard's side, terrified. "I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN!" She held one of her arms out for AWOL to hug her, she was getting nervous. She glanced around and froze. She saw something moving in the bushes, thanks to her increased eyesight.

Wizard held Star close, chuckling. "Don't worry, its nothing to be afraid of. They're just a little annoying. Here, I'll mute them."  
Wizard used his magic to silence the screaming plants. At the same time, the mechaniloid in the bushes made eye contact with Star. It looked like a weird buglike thing, it just being a metal head with a single robot eye, and some spider legs. It's head was about the size of a cookie head.  
 It's pupil grew to fill the whole eye, and then it quickly scurried off again, as if it was afraid and vulnerable, yet it seemed to know where it was going.

Well, Star was afraid but the moment Wizard held her, it was like everything disappeared. She felt a bit flustered, then leaned into the embrace, her heart racing. 'He's holding me!' The screaming plant went silent due to Wizard's magic. "T-thanks.." She lingered in his hold a bit longer, before letting go of him and glancing back to the bush. "Are there a lot of big spiders around here, too? I think I saw one."

Wizard crossed his arms once Star was put down. "No, I don't think so. I haven't seen a spider here since me and gramps first came here. Why, did you see something?"

"I..." Star went over to the bush and pushed it apart, only to find the spider thing gone. "I guess I didn't? I thought I saw.." She turned back to him and blushed. "Never mind. Sorry."

Wizard followed Star, and looked around the area she thought she saw a spider in. He looked eastward, and suddenly was surprised.  
"Hey! That's one of the gems!" He hopped over, and picked the crescent moon shaped gem off the floor. "How did this get here...?" Maybe that spider dropped it. But why did it have it?

Star peeked around him to look at the gem and thought for a second. "So, four more.." She happened to look away, into a darker corner of the greenhouse and she saw it. She tugged on Wizard's sleeve and pointed. Her voice was a whisper. "That spider."

Wizard finally spotted it when Star pointed it out. "...That... That looks different than any robot I've seen in the city..." Wizard carefully stepped forward. The robotic spider was trembling in fear, looking for a way out of this..  
"...It's not powered by magic." Wizard said, frowning.

"So you don't know what it is?" Star moved a bit, so that between her and Wizard blocking it, there wouldn't be a way for it to escape. "Should we catch it? It might have some more gems."

The spider panicked, and it's bottom opened up, dumping out another crescent moon gem, a star gem, and a circle moon gem. It then used that opening to book it between Star's and Wizard's legs. Whoosh, there it went.  
"Hey!! It had all of the ones we're looking for, except the biggest one!!" Wizard grabbed all the gems, and turned around, but the robot was gone. "What..?!"

Star decided to give chase, but quickly lost the spider robot. "Well.. At least I know i'm not just seeing things." She returned to Wizard's side and looked around... Oh crap. "Where's AWOL?"

AWOL screeched, floating over to the two from where he was where they had left him, by the screaming plants. He looked as if he had been clawed up on his face. "SPIDER ROBOT!!" He beeped angrily.  
Wizard looked startled. "Darn, I'm sorry, I forgot you were with us... What happened to your face?"

"AWOL?!" Star grabbed him and hugged him gently. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to leave you.." She examined the scratch marks on his face and whimpered. "The spider robot did this?" She cradled him gently in her arms and turned to Wizard. "I think we should go. Can you fix him up or something?"

"CLAWED IT'S WAY OVER ME LIKE THE DEVIL WAS AFTER IT." AWOL said, letting himself be held and closed his eyes.  
"Yeah. We got more than what we were looking for anyway." He poofed the gems to a magic inventory, and then turned his attention to AWOL. He whispered a healing spell under his breath, and the scratch marks were all gone. "There."  
AWOL smiled. "THANKS."

Star held AWOL close to her chest and promised herself she wouldn't drop him again. "So that means all we have is that one left, right?" Star looked around, trying to remember which way that Wizard had brought them im.

"Yeah. Supposedly, the last and biggest one, is at the very top of the clock tower. But, its dangerous up there and we never got a thorough look." Wizard started walking. "Let's get back to the others, then figure out what to do."

Star followed, in high spirits. If really all they had left was that one, then they could try and get the city back, quick. "We can get Force to lead us up there. Even if it's dangerous, she can get through it." Star said proudly. "So we managed to find all but one gem in one day. So I think we might sleep for today? I really haven't had more than a nap in a week."

"I don't know about that, Star... Special Force isn't a magical expert. The robot up there is huge, and powered by magic, and designed to protect the core of the clock tower. Because, if that core is harmed, all of space-time and all the multiple universes created magically will go all out of whack!" Wizard exclaimed, "Oh, uh, forgot to tell you. Moonlight Cookie is also a goddess of time and space, her dream world is a product of warped time and space... Which, in a sense, is essentially what dreams are."

Star looked away, deep in thought. After a moment she looked back to Wizard and tilted her head to the side. "So she controls everyone's dreams? Like, what they dream about?" She kept AWOL in her arms, but adjusted him so that she could hold him with one hand and hold on to Wizard's sleeve with the other. "Because if that's it.. She's got some explaining to do." Her voice held an icy edge that wasn't there before.

AWOL stayed quiet, and was held.  
"Oh no, not at all. Not all of them, at least. The dream world is just a place you can only connect to in your sleep, and its your consciousness that decides what you see there. Most of the time, you barely remember being there... But sometimes, you're aware you're in the dream world to an extent. That's called lucid dreaming." Wizard explained as they approached the library once more. "This is just what my dad told me. He says Moonlight taught him about the dream world back in the day."

Star didn't say anything, but bowed her head a bit in embarrassment. She had gotten a bit upset without a real reason. In front of Wizard.. Her grip on his sleeve tightened and she looked away from him. They had reached the library, and suddenly she turned to Wizard. "Oh, so earlier you said you might be able to teach me some magic? When can we do that?" She seemed excited.

"Oh, yes. I can teach you something really quick... It takes years of practice to use magic without speaking, so we'll start off easy." He handed Star his staff. "Point that at something small, and say, 'Wingardium-Leviosa'."

Star let go of Wizard's sleeve and took the staff, it was heavier than it looked. She pointed the candy shaped end at a fist sized rock nearby. "...Wingardium Leviosa!"  
The rock fell over. Star was about to say something, hesitated, then said, "Was that supposed to happen?"

"...Well, the rock was supposed to levitate in the air. But, you made it move, so that's a good start!" Wizard smiled, and AWOL beeped, "MAGIC IS BEYOND ME."  
Wizard took his staff back. "I'll show you more spells tomorrow."

Her face went red at the praise, and happily handed him his staff back. She glanced down to AWOL. "I thought so too, but.." She couldn't hide how excited she was. Star couldn't help it, magic was such a new thing to her, and admittedly she had a very attractive teacher to make it even more interesting. "Can't wait for tomorrow, then." A shy smile crossed her lips. It couldn't be any more obvious she liked him.

Wizard was a bit confused at her expression, but brushed it off. He obviously was not an expert at love, having being so focused on his studies his whole life. "Indeed. Now, let's get back to th-!"  
He was cut off by Force yelling, "DUCK!!"  
Wizard reacted fast, grabbing Star and making them both duck. A pink laser whooshed over their heads, revealing they were being attacked by Mini Jacksons.  
"Wha-?!" Wizard looked back. "They don't ever come inside the buildings!"

Star let out a scared noise as she was pushed down, she felt the heat of the laser on her skin. It was way too close for comfort. She clutched AWOL tighter to her chest. When it passed Star ran to Force and hid behind her from the things. "W-why are they here, then?!"

Force gently pat Star's head reassuringly, AWOL beeping unhappily. Force said, "Prophet said he had a vision of something malfunctioning in the guard robot at the top of the clock tower! It's like the alpha robot that controls what these smaller ones do- And now they're attacking..."  
Wizard stood between the Mini Jacksons and the two girls, and attacked the robots with a strong electricity spell. It made them all freeze up and break, falling to the ground. "Hmph!"  
Prophet slowly levitated himself, and Lily to the ground beside Force, Star and AWOL. He looked saddened, "My predictions nearly always come true..."

Lily was shaking a bit, levitation was NOT her favorite mode of transport. Her hair was poofed out, and when her feet touched solid ground she practically dove onto Force. "I stabbed one of those things. Bad idea. Bad." She was twitching a little. Must have electrocuted her. Star watched her for a second and turned back to Wizard. "How many of these little robot things are there? Was the spider one of these?"

Wizard shot a protection spell at the door, which blocked the angry mini Jacksons from entering. He turned toward Star, and shook his head. "No! I don't know what that spider was! Oh, dad, we got-"  
"I know, son..." Prophet said, "You only need one more gem. It lies within the clock tower... You all must hurry there, I have seen terrible things take place there in my future vision. Make sure it doesn't happen."  
Force hugged Lily right back, and nodded. "I was looking forward to being relaxed tonight, but... Guess not. I don't have my gun on me though. It's in the helicopter! You guys go on ahead, I'll get the weapons!"

Star returned to Wizard's side, tugging on his robes. "Is there anything I can do? I have good aim, if you have anything I can use for a weapon." She figured her small knife wouldn't be of any use.  
"Please get my spear too if you can.. Be safe." Lily kissed Force's cheek and held her tight. She whispered, "I can't lose you." She let go of Force hesitantly and moved to follow Wizard and Starfruit.

"...Hm. Can you use ranged weapons?" Wizard asked, already having something in mind for Starfruit.  
Force nodded. "Sure thing. I'll be fine, I deal with this shit all the time. You be safe too, and take care of Star!"  
Force ran off, leaving through a high up window. She's an excellent climber.  
AWOL followed her out.

Star nodded quickly. "Force showed me how to aim and shoot. I'm pretty good." She grinned, she definitely wanted to help fight this thing.  
Lily watched Force leave. She sighed. Every time Force left lately, Lily always felt like that would be the last time.. She shook the feeling off and stopped behind Star. "She's fine with ranged weapons. Like her mother." Lily looked back to where Force had left. "She's bringing my spear back. I'll be able to handle myself, so let's go."

"Then I have the perfect weapon for you." Wizard waved his staff a bit, conjuring up a magic crossbow, which had a nice yellow star design. "Try that. It's enchanted to reload really fast, and the shots have a fiery energy effect."

Star took the crossbow and studied it intently. It just felt right in her hands, and she held it now at her side. She hadn't used this weapon in particular before, but just looking at it she understood how to use it. She lifted it, and pointed it towards one of the destroyed Mini Jacksons, firing. She hit it almost in the center. "Nice."  
Lily blinked. That didn't seem like a good weapon for a 10 year old, but desperate times call for desperate measures, after all.

"Good job, that settles it! Now let's go! Hurry, to the clock tower!" Wizard took off, leaving his father behind and zapping every Mini Jackson in his way. He had his eyes set on that clock tower, and he had to maneuver around robotic wind-up wizards that protected the exterior.

Star and Lily followed close behind, Lily seemed to keep the road clear behind her for Force to follow them later. Star seemed to get exhausted from running rather quickly, but did her best to continually follow Wizard. Lily couldn't help but look back often, for a sight of the CIA logo and telltale green color.  
They made it to the tower rather quickly.


	7. Chapter 7

Wizard took the lead in climbing the spiral staircase. It was eerily quiet in here, the only sound being the ticking of the clock as they climbed. "Almost there-!"  
Once they got to the top, the atmosphere immediately shifted to panic mode. Magic laser lights everywhere... The ceiling being a dome that shone only space and stars, and directly in the middle was a giant complex core. The core of space-time...  
On the other side of the room, there was a sparking and malfunctioning giant guard robot...

As they finished climbing the spiral staircase, Star whimpered a little and hid behind Wizard. The ominous lights almost seemed to foretell misfortune. Lily puffed her hair out a bit to look more intimidating, and kept close enough to Star's side that she could protect her at a moment's notice. Where was Force..?

Wizard kept his staff out and ready, hoping to himself he was prepared for anything. But what was going on with that guard robot?  
The guard robot suddenly stopped. It lit up once more, and turned it's robot eye over to the gang. It then laughed. The laughing was mechanical, but... So familiar...  
As it cackled like a maniac, it's volume increased as it whirled around the core and over to approach Wizard, Lily, and Star. It's amusement seemed sick, and sent chills down Wizard's back. This robot was NOT supposed to be sentient.  
"Ahahaha-!! Ahh, not-so-long-time no see, you two. And a newcomer wizard boy as well!" The voice said, it's voice loud.  
"Who are you, and what have you done to the guard robot?!" Wizard demanded, glaring and pointing his staff at the mechaniloid. It just continued to laugh really hard, now opening a slide-door hatch on top of it. It projected a large pinkish hologram above it, that of none other than Science Cookie's upper body, looking as if it was watching them all through a rectangular screen.  
"It's only your friendly neighborhood genius, Science Cookie! Thought you could get rid of me with a knife, could you?! Hahahaha!!" Science grinned wide, tapping his holographic fingers together.

Star peeked out from behind Wizard and hissed. "Why are you still alive? You should have died! I saw you!"  
A fire had lit in Lily's eyes, and she looked around for a weapon. She couldn't find one, however, and then turned back at him to glare, her expression mounting on absolutely furious. "You fucker.. How dare you show your face around here?! After what you've done!"

"Oh hush it, kitty princess. I have a will to live and that will is strong!" Science cackled, "And you're right, I did die! But luckily, I was able to command my computer to send one of my robots out to me, and once I was dead, cut my brain out and put it into that spider robot!"  
"That was you?!" Wizard exclaimed, now quite angry at both Sci and himself. He only just met this guy, but he knew he didn't like him.  
That's when Force and AWOL returned, up the stairs. Force was no longer in her disguise. She looked like herself again, save for the short black hair. She tossed Lily her spear, but froze in place when she saw Sci. "No... I killed you!! "  
"Well, you tried to." Sci snickered at his snide remark.  
"Why are you here?! Why the giant bronze magic robot?!" Force snarled, pointing her gun at it.  
"Don't you understand, my child?! This robot was everything I ever dreamed of! I can already feel my head throb at all the potential I have with this thing! I have all the secrets of the universe at my fingertips!" Sci explained, sounding more crazy by the minute.  
He held his head, his hologram glitching a bit, warping his laughter in a disturbing fashion. "Yes... YES!! Tell me, please! The secret of magic, the world, the universe!! Ah, it hurts, but it hurts so good!! This is what infinite knowledge feels like, I love it!!"  
Force just stared, deeply disturbed at what she was witnessing. Science looked like he was near having a seizure or something. "No cookie should have that much knowledge..."  
"I'm not a cookie anymore, Agent Special Force! I'm a being of this Wizard City! An essence of all knowledge of this miserable world and the magic that brought it all life. My dream has come true! Come true I tell you!! I know it all! Gaaaah-!! Ah, my head hurts!! Hahahaha!!" Science grabbed his holographic hair and yanked it. "I can't even feel this! Haaaa.... I could rule the world with this! I'm a GOD!!"  
He pointed at Star. "YOU, MY FINEST CREATION! I don't need you anymore! You're obsolete! All of you are! Now, if you wont surrender to me, I'll have to terminate you all!!"

Lily took her spear back and turned to face Science. "You're an idiot if you think we'd willingly surrender to a fool like you." She glanced across her spear, the point was still nice and sharp. She faintly remembered.. She sharpened it this morning, hadn't she? All that had happened, in the span of one day. She held it out threateningly, the point facing him. "I'll tear you to shreds."  
Star was still using Wizard as a security, but she stood tall. She held the crossbow close to her and refused to let her eyes leave Science's form. "You're going to pay. I'll make sure of it." She aimed at him and fired.

The shot arrow hit the front of the suspended robot, but it only left a small dent before bouncing off. Science was quiet for a moment, and then just burst out into laughter.  
"AHAHAHA! THAT WAS IT?! You're a riot, Starfruit!!"  
Force glared. "We'll kill you for real before you ever leave this clock tower!!"  
"Catch me if you can, pitiful heroes!! Hahaha!" Science began to move backward, still suspended in the air, but there was a platform around the outside of the room you could run on. The large mini Jacksons and magical hazards and pits would make following him dangerous though.  
But Force didn't hesitate to charge right forward. "COME BACK HERE, YOU ASSHOLE!" She fired like crazy with her gun, she missed doing this.  
AWOL chased right after Force, being her support with his graham crackers. He beeped angrily, screaming profanities in code. Better not translate that.  
Wizard stuck close to Starfruit as he took off. "Stay behind me, Starfruit! This is dangerous for a kid, but we might need your help with that crossbow!"

Star wanted to yell something in return to him, but was too stunned upset to do it before he began to move. She stayed glued to Wizard, he could deflect magic shots rather well and he seemed to be taken with her. She would occasionally peek away and shoot another arrow. It might only be denting him, but she needed some way to find the weakness.  
Lily followed close to Force, though she lingered back a bit so she could watch her girlfriend's movements. She seemed to be mainly focused on shooting up the body. Lily noticed a few larger pieces of shrapnel on the ground around her and took them, throwing it like a javelin at the Science-bot thing.

"Sorry, girls! I don't feel a thing! Get a load of this!" Science charged his laser, and shot it. Force jumped at the right moment, and so did Wizard, who had grabbed Star to save her. That wouldn't work for long though, Star was heavy.  
Force huffed as she landed back on the ground. She felt the searing heat of the laser below her. Don't get hit by that laser, she thought. She was worried for Star, but trusted Wizard.  
Wizard shot a lightning bolt at Science, but while it did more damage than normal bullets, it still didn't do much. He had to let go of Star to do this, since it was a two handed procedure.  
"Pathetic!" Sci charged up his laser again, and fired..

Lily jumped along with Force, clinging tight to a ledge on the wall. She jumped back down and continued her Olympic worthy attack, throwing whatever slender thing she could find.  
Star was constantly firing shots of her own, it wasn't doing any more than her mothers but it was something at least. She saw the laser charge. She froze. Star knew she had to move, otherwise... But it was too late. She decided to try and dive to the side to maybe dodge it.  
Star failed to avoid the laser. It hit her square on the chest and threw her back into one of the supporting walls, slumping and ceasing all movement.


	8. Chapter 8

Wizard cried out, "No!!" When he saw the laser strike Star. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, and he skidded to a stop, running over to her side. "No no no... Starfruit, no...!! Stay with me, Star!" He started to chant different spells, trying to do SOMETHING about this. Star was dead instantaneously thanks to that laser.  
AWOL and Force both looked back, and stopped running. Force stared at her daughter's motionless self far behind her. AWOL was the first to react, screeching and flying over to Star's side, already violently sobbing and unable to form words.

Lily turned at hearing Wizard's pleas for life and felt a cold chill fill her entire body. Star was dead. That couldn't.. God. All of this was her fault. She couldn't protect her. Lily turned back to Science, tears running down her face. She let out a roar and took a step back, then charged. She lept off the platform she and Force were on, and managed to land on top of the security robot. She began to use her spear to dig into and rip up the sheet metal, trying to reveal the sensitive wiring. So she could absolutely wreck him.

"Oh, what a shame. So much for my greatest creation of she can't even dodge a laser- AHH! Hey, get off me!" Science yelled, trying to shake Lily off.  
Force turned back to Science, something seeming to click in her head. Her pupils dilated, and she screamed in ungodly rage and charged Science as well, strength filling into her body once more thanks to anger and despair. She started ripping parts off of him too, her unnatural strength showing now more than ever.  
"AAGH!! What is this madness?! Get off me, you clods!" Science shook some more, but these angry mothers were not going to come back until some serious revenge was enacted.  
Wizard worked diligently, focusing on nothing else but Star's revival.  
 AWOL sobbed bitterly over his little sister's body. This was probably the worst day of his life. It was at this point he realized how deep his love for her went, and he felt like he failed at being a guardian. He had failed at being a brother.  
"I-m... So-rry... Star-fruit..." AWOL cried, forcing himself to speak English words for the first time. And it hurt.

Lily had managed to pry up a panel that covered some of the internal wiring with her spear. She tucked the spear under her arm and used her bare hands to grab and tear out a handful of the wiring. She didn't care any more what would happen to her. The thing she was on had killed her only child. She felt a current begin to run through her veins due to the electricity, but ignored it. Revenge was now her only thought.

"W-wait wait wait, no-!! You don't know what you're- AGHH!! NOT GOOD!" Science screamed as Force did the same thing, ripping out his parts and making loud alarms go off inside of his body. He shot weakened lasers wildly as he flew out of control, running into the opposite wall. Force reached the core of Science, now trying to pry open the head of that spider robot, which was hooked up to the rest of the guard robot with it's legs.  
"N-NOOO!! ALL MY KNOWLEDGE, ALL MY DREAMS! Oh please, I don't want it all gone! Ahhhghh, don't kill meeeee!!" Science cried, horrified with how defenseless he was now. This was his end.  
AWOL dropped to the floor, cuddling next to Star as Wizard worked. He said nothing else.

Lily crawled up to where Force was, looked at the spider bot and almost laughed. "You still think you deserve life?!" She took her spear and brought it down into head of the spider bot.  
The glass around the head begun to crack as she did so. Lily continued her motions, occasionally glancing back hopelessly to Star.  
She really was gone, wasn't she.

"I've had ENOUGH of your shit, Science!! I'm sending you personally to hell!!" Force barked, smacking the butt of her gun down on the spider's head protecting that squishy, vulnerable brain. It rattled Science where it hurt, and he kept crying. "Oh gods of the universe, have mercy on my soul!! If this is the end for me, I must remember my accomplishments!! Ah, I'll definitely be remembered!"

"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Lily hit the shattering glass again, until it finally broke a large enough opening. She tightened her grip on her spear. Tears ran down her face, she wanted him to suffer far more than he possibly could. She thrusted the sharp edge into his brain a few times in succession, leaving no room for error.

Force just stared as Lily stabbed and stabbed the pile of strawberry jam mush in the spider's head. She knew it was over, but she didn't want it to be. She didn't want the crippling reality of the situation to fall on her... But good god, did it do just that. She lowered her weapon, now beginning to cry in silence.  
Wizard breathed out, that final spell should do the trick. Star just needed to wake up...  
"Star, come on... You're not dead yet. Not on my watch." Wizard gently shook her. "Come on, you're fine. Just scarred... Ugh."  
AWOL kept whining and crying. "S-tar... Sta-rrrhh...."

Lily slowed, then entirely stopped her impaling. She pulled the spear out and placed it down calmly. Lily turned to Force and threw her arms around her neck, she buried her face into Force's shoulder and sobbed.  
Star heard him. She couldn't move just yet, but she could hear him. It was dull, she couldn't make out what he'd said, but the voice was most definitely Wizard's. She could now feel something against her arm.. AWOL? She tried her best to pull the graham cracker in, but only managed to barely move her fingertips across his face. Her eyes opened a little.. It was really bright, in comparison to the darkness she was just in.

Force barely reacted to Lily's sobs. She just slowly wrapped her own arms around her lover, her cries gaining some volume now. "That... S-scumbag..."  
AWOL looked surprised. She moved! She was alive! He started crying tears of hope and joy, nuzzling up to Star's side. "Star! Star!!"  
Wizard slumped against the wall and breathed. "Woooooh... Oh boy... Ah... What a day..."

A low noise escaped Star's throat, and she slowly looked down. "...." She tried to speak, but stopped herself, and she weakly smiled. She seemed to have improved her movement a bit, and.. Was AWOL speaking in English? She grinned at him, still a bit weak. "AWOL..." She closed her eyes and exhaled. She was tired.  
Lily nodded, but stopped moving and pulled away from Force. She'd heard Star. She turned and covered her mouth with her hand. "...Force. Look."

"W-what?" Force looked over at Star, seeing her move. She stopped what she was doing, and felt relief like no other. The relief was so much, it made her physically weak, just wanting to finally rest for fucking once. "...Star...!!" She ran over to Star's side, picking her up and hugging her close with AWOL. "Baby, you're... You're breathing..."  
Wizard nodded. "Yup... Nothing an old healing and revival spell cant fix. Just as long as she hasn't been dead for long, which she wasn't- Huh?"  
Something glowed over the top of the wrecked guard robot, and the final gemstone piece appeared, spinning and floating down in front of it, it's spinning slowing down. Boss battle win reward.  
"Hah... The last piece was inside that robot." Wizard flopped on the floor.

Star felt herself get picked up and hugged Force as tightly as she could. That wasn't very tight at this point, but still. "Mmhm.. I'm.. Fine.." She simply relaxed into the embrace and fought the urge to sleep. "..I never did get to see your real hair, mom.."   
Lily followed close behind, putting one arm around Force and another on Star's back. She remained silent, but there were still tears running down her face. The relief of Star actually surviving was the best thing she'd ever felt.

Force just smiled, kissing Star's head. "You're alive.. I'm... I cant thank you enough, Wizard."  
Wizard smiled, slowly getting up to go get the final gemstone. "Don't mention it. Star just needs rest, she's been through a lot."  
AWOL just whined, not wanting Star to let go of him ever again.

"Mmmh.." Star took what Wizard said as an offer and nuzzled up on Force. She remembered.. She hadn't slept for real in so long. Star dozed off, nuzzling against Force and petting AWOL gently.  
Lily watched her daughter fall asleep and gave her a kiss on the cheek, before kissing Force. "It's over. We're finally done with having to fight this jerk." Lily nuzzled up close to her girlfriend and smirked, her voice dropping to a soft whisper. "We can just be together from now on, love. Tonight.."

Force smiled happily, kissing Lily back. It really was over. Sure, Force would have her fair share of problems to work out after this, like dealing with the weight of killing her own commander and taking on his persona for awhile, and losing the only job she's ever known. But right now, it all seemed perfect. AWOL then dozed off too. Force stood and said, "Yes... I'm jobless, but that means we finally get more time together, Lily."  
Wizard nodded. "Yeah, I'm glad you all are okay now... But, let's go to the magic castle and open that seal!" Wizard took off again. He must be using magic to help him stay active and energetic, damn.  
Prophet was waiting for them all in the other building, at the top floor where the giant seal was, blocking off entry to Moonlight's room. Beyond this unbreakable gate lied Mystic Moonlight... Prophet longed to see her again, after this many years..

Lily thought for a minute and grinned. "So you won't have to leave everyday anymore. I know Star will be happy about you staying with us now. I am, too." She grinned a little, kissing Force again. She turned to follow Wizard, impressed by him. She had to thank him somehow for rescuing her daughter. Later, though.  
They followed Wizard back to the seal.

Force adjusted Star and AWOL in her arms. She felt warm and fuzzy inside now, and looked up at the big seal. She didn't say anything. She didn't feel it was necessary.  
Prophet turned around to face the gang, nodding slightly. "I knew... Deep in my heart, that you could do it. Now, son... The gemstones."  
Wizard nodded in silence, pulling out all of the gems from his magical inventory. They floated up and grew in size to properly fit their place on the big seal, and fitted themselves into their respective slots. Each one glowed, the chains on the door shaking for a moment. Force tensed, but Prophet and Wizard faced it calmly. This was a good thing.  
The seal broke, and turned to light and vanished, leaving the unharmed door to Moonlight's quarters behind. Prophet hesitated for a moment, but slowly grabbed the handle and turned it, pushing the door in.  
Moonlight, sensing the visitors from outside, started to awake from her deep hundred-year sleep....

End


End file.
